Dare To Wander
by Soleneus
Summary: Saved by a Stranger, a young man sets out into the D.C. Wasteland with Sniper in his hands and justice in his heart, daring to make a difference in world that would rather he not. Slavers, Raiders, and bad people beware...He Dares.
1. He Who Dares

Pain wracked his body, emanating from the back of his head, and every bump and shuffle sent new shocks through him. He faded in and out of the waking world, hearing muffled voices and laughter around him but being unable to bring himself fully awake.

The crack of gunshots made him jerk in shock, the action doing nothing but sending a fresh wave of pain over his body and making his vision spin wildly. Someone screamed loudly before being cut off by a shot, and the world went still.

Dirt crunched underneath feet, and he rolled his eye up through half-raised lids, seeing only a long, tan blob. The blob folded, apparently kneeling next to him. A tan hand snaked around his neck, pulling on the dog-tag hanging there.

"No…" He mumbled, weakly batting the hand away.

Surprised, the owner pulled away, and a rough voice spoke over his head. "How interesting…"

That was the last he heard, as the darkness crawled over his vision and he left consciousness.

…

He came awake slowly, finding himself sitting against a wall. The pain had faded greatly, but the back of his head still throbbed insistently, and the world seemed to tilt and spin randomly.

The blob from before knelt next to him, his vision clearing enough to see that the blob was a man. A man wearing a tan trench coat and a brown hat of some sort. His sight was too blurry to make out more than that, except for a pair of stern, focused, but not unkind grey eyes.

"I'm surprised you're awake." The man in the hat said slowly. "With that blow you took to the back of your head, I'm surprised you aren't dead. I thought you were, actually."

"Who…are you?" He asked, trying to blink away the grogginess.

The man in the hat shrugged lightly. "A simple stranger, is all I am. Even to those who know my name. And speaking of names, you have a rather strange one. Dare, I believe it is?"

The stranger in the hat held up a familiar length of chain with a worn dog-tag hanging from it. "S'mine." Dare fumbled, trying to take the necklace back.

"It's not my intention to steal it, son. Names are very important, and it's the worst kind of crime to steal one." The stranger rebuked lightly, setting it down next to Dare on the bed. "I only killed half of the slavers in that caravan you were carried around in. The rest fled with other slaves "

Dare rolled his eyes up to look at the stranger. "…Where'd they go?" He muttered sluggishly, struggling to stay awake.

"Why do you want to know?" The stranger returned easily.

"Kill 'em. Save the others." He replied simply.

The stranger lifted an eyebrow. "You are in no condition to be chasing slavers across the Wasteland., son. Rest for now, and when you waken once more, then you can decide."

Dare's eyes fluttered as he began to lose the battle to stay awake. "Why'd you…save me?"

He saw the strange man shrug. "You intrigued me. Not many could survive a blow to head, or survive and be strong enough to still move afterwards. I'll be leaving these with you."

The stranger set a revolver on the ground, along with a small box of bullets and a combat knife. "Call it an investment." The stranger muttered, withdrawing a battered box of cigarettes from within his coat and extracting a single white smoke from it. He stuck it between his lips and lit it, the small flame fading quickly, leaving the stranger's face in the shadows of his hat. "Something for you to think on, Dare."

The stranger leaned forward, a cloud of smoke pillowing from his mouth. "Vengeance is for the weak. Justice…is for the mighty."

Dare tried to reply, but found that his mouth was unwilling to move. He fell limp, into the darkness of sleep once again.

…

He awoke with a gasp, heart pounding in his chest as he looked over the room in panic. He calmed down once he saw that he was alone, his breathing slowly coming down.

Dare blinked, finding that his vision didn't spin and his head wasn't killing him, gingerly poking at the area and wincing at the tenderness of his skull. He sighed and scrubbed his face, scanning the house he found himself in. It was dilapidated, as were most houses in the Wasteland, but the walls were closed, as was the door and the roof. It was also empty, save for the mattress he rested on and himself.

Lying next to him was his dog-tag, which he hurried to put on, sighing at the comfortable weight around his neck. He lifted the worn metal to his face and rubbed his thumb over the letters stamped in it.

 **D A R E**

There had once been more on those tags, but grime and time had sanded them away. Dare patted the tag and looked over what else had been left for him by the strange man. The revolver used .357 bullets, if the box was anything to go by, and both it and the knife were in good condition. Next to the weapons was a leather pouch with his name stitched into the flap, and a can of Pork'n'Beans.

Feeling his stomach grumble, he grabbed the can and the pouch, retrieving a multi-tool and using it to open the can, then withdrawing a spoon. He quickly consumed the can of food, feeling the burning in his stomach fading.

Done with his meal, Dare found a battered box of cigarettes next to his bed, which recognized as the strangers. It was missing one smoke, but otherwise full.

 _Why did he leave this behind?_ He wondered, slipping the pack into his pouch with the bullets. Standing up, he glanced at the revolver, wondering why a sense of dread was permeating his thoughts.

A realization dawned and his face went pale. "Shit!" He shouted, sprinting out of the house.

The sunlight shone in his face, and he stumbled as the light, combined with the dizziness of moving so suddenly took its toll. He quickly shook it off, scanning the area. He found trails of blood on the cracked and barren earth and followed them to a pile of bodies that he recognized as the slavers that had attacked the caravan he was traveling with.

Ignoring the stench, Dare searched through the bodies, growing increasingly desperate as the items he was seeking refused to turn up. "No! Fuck!" He cried out, punching the ground angrily.

His guns, his precious guns were missing, probably taken by the fleeing slavers. Besides his tag, they were his most precious items, the weapons his parents wielded in life and what he used after their deaths.

Breathing heavily and scrubbing away the tears threatening to fall, Dare took note of the way the slavers had died. His Sniper's Mind, as his dad called it, found it impressive how most had died by a perfectly centered head-shot or a bullet through the heart. It was made by a higher-caliber gun.

Dare, gathering himself, searched through the bodies once more, this time identifying items he would need or find useful. Among the bodies, he found a hunting rifle that was in workable condition, with twenty shots, and a SMG that would fire, but desperately needed a new firing pin and a pair of clips for it. Along with that, there was also a worn, well-used baseball bat with a bloodstain near the top, along with three Stimpaks, and a syringe of Med-X.

Setting the weapons aside, Dare stripped the leather armor off of a body, and making sure that the area around him was empty, he quickly pulled it on, tightening the belt and adjusting his pouch next to the one built-in. He stored the SMG in the empty pouch, slung the rifle on his back and holstered the revolver, feeling comforted by the weight of weaponry on his person.

As Dare began to strip the other bodies of clothing, he occasionally patted his gun to make sure it was there. It was due to his military background.

His father had been a sniper, one of the best, or so he claimed, and his mother had been a Ranger. Both had taught him how to use a rifle and smaller arms since he was a kid, and how to maintain weaponry in general while he was growing up in the Pacific North-Wasteland.

Shaking the memories away, he rolled up the clothes, and with careful placement, stored them in his pouches, though it was tight fit. Standing, he scanned the horizon, finding what looked like a lump of dark metal with a turbine in the middle.

Shrugging, Dare set off towards the lump. It might be a settlement, but if it wasn't, he could use it as a landmark and climb it to get a better view of the area.

As he traveled, he took in the sights, not as if there was that much to see. Sparse, grey grass and almost colorless dirt, interrupted by faded concrete and the occasional shallow, murky pool of irradiated water.

He skirted around a destroyed school, and found the remains of a gas station near two houses that looked empty, but livable. Near the long-dry pumps was a vending machine, the white and red, though faded, still proudly proclaiming the Nuka-Cola that might be inside.

Licking his dry lips, Dare approached the machine and felt along the door, noting that it was still closed and hadn't seemed to have been opened before. He jammed his knife into the crack and pushed, the old lock easily giving away, exposing the two dusty bottles inside.

Smiling to himself, he took the bottles, storing one away for later while cracking open the other, making sure to save the cap. The luke-warm bubbly liquid quenched his thirst, and he smiled at the sweet taste, storing the bottle. You never knew when a glass bottle could come in handy.

The smile dropped as gunshots rang out, joined by crazed shouting. It was coming from the direction of the metal lump. Dare quickly jogged towards the noise, sliding behind a rock and scanning the situation.

The lump was definitely a settlement, and it was being attacked by raiders. The settlement was being protected by a Protectron, a bipedal security robot usually equipped with a laser for defense; there was also a sniper hidden in the metal, taking potshots at the small band of raiders.

Dare slowly slid out from behind the rock and snuck up to one of the raider's, who was hanging back with a hunting rifle, firing at the Protectron.

Gripping the bat, he quickly brought it over the raider's head, pressing against his throat. The raider struggled, gurgling as the life was choked out of him, but Dare didn't let up until the rifle clattered from his hands and he fell still.

Dropping the body, he snatched up the rifle along with the clips on the corpse and took aim at another raider, this one with an SMG spraying bullets at the sniper. He centered the sights on her head and pulled the trigger, the rifle kicking against his shoulder as her head sprayed blood and brain matter, the body slumping over a rock.

He quickly cycled rounds, turning the gun on another raider. But before he could shoot, the raider's head exploded from the sniper's shot.

Taking a deep breath, Dare sighed and looted the bodies, using parts from the rifle to fix up his own and doing the opposite to the SMG. He also acquired five Stimpaks, and a few doses of Psycho and Jet, though he wouldn't take the drugs.

As he made to move the bodies, a sharp whistle interrupted him. Looking up, he spotted the sniper waving at him. "Hey! Let Deputy Weld handle the bodies! Thanks for the assist, too!"

He waved back, calling out, "Can I come in? Since I helped?"

The sniper nodded, waving him forward. "Course! Just don't start any trouble!"

Dare strode past the Protectron, who greeted him with a stilted _"Welcome to Megaton, the safest town around."_

He jumped as the turbine below the gate began to spin, and the two plates of metal slid up, exposing the gate. He waved to the sniper again and entered Megaton, taking in the sight of homes cobbled together from various metal pieces. People moved through the town, simply living life. There was even a working pipe system, though it was leaking.

All in all, it was a very well-off settlement.

His eyes fell on the distinctive shape of a nuclear bomb sitting in the center of the crater, with an old man standing the definitely irradiated puddle around it, seemingly giving a sermon.

Dare started when a strong hand fell on his shoulder. "And who might you be, stranger?" An older black man asked, peering sternly at him from underneath a cowboy hat, a salt-and-pepper beard decorating the lower half of his face.

"Um, sorry." He apologized for some reason. This man just seemed to emanate an aura of respectability, just like the military men he'd met in his life. "I'm, uh, Dare. I just…came in. Looking for a place to sleep and trade. Maybe some information, sir."

"'Sir'?" The man said thoughtfully, stroking his beard. The gesture inadvertently drew attention to the shiny badge pinned to the front of his duster and the stock of an assault rifle peeking over his shoulder. "Haven't seen manners like that in awhile. Name's Lucas Simms, I'm the Sheriff of this little town. And mayor, when the need arises."

Dare nodded and shook the man's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Polite as well?" Lucas muttered under his breath. "Just so we understand each other: cause any trouble, and I shoot you."

"Understood." He replied carefully.

The sheriff clapped him on the shoulder. "Good. Now, if you're lookin' for a place to rest for the night, the Common House always has room, and if you want to trade, you'll want to go to Craterside Supply and see Moira Brown. And, if you seek information, you're best bet is Moriarty's Saloon." He explained, pointing out the buildings.

"Thank you. A question?" Dare asked, pointing at the nuke. "Is that thing armed?"

Lucas laughed, patting the younger man on the shoulder. "You're far from the first person to ask that question, son. It's inactive. That thing won't be going off anytime soon."

Dare nodded to himself, warily eyeing the bomb. "Thank you for the information, Sheriff."

"Stay out of trouble." Was the older man's reply, as he walked off.

Dare adjusted the rifle on his back and sighed, trudging towards the round metal building, the nose of an airplane on top of it with letters spelling out 'Supply' on top, and the words 'Craterside Supply' painted on the door in white.

Upon entering, he found that the interior was rather clean, though the odd array of items scattered around clashed with it. A man in mercenary clothes leaned against a wall next to a workbench, cradling a shotgun and shooting meaningful looks his way.

His attention was drawn to a woman as she leaned a broom against the counter and stepped behind it, greeting him with a cheerful smile and an equally happy, "Hello! I'm Moira Brown, and welcome to Craterside Supply! How can I help you?"

He gave her a short wave. "Hi. I've got some stuff to trade."

"Alrighty then!"

Bemused by her attitude, Dare laid out his acquisitions, selling off the clothes he pulled off the slavers, along with the SMG, baseball bat, and the drugs. In return, he bought a pack and twenty rounds for his hunting rifle.

Thanking the eccentric woman for the trade, he exited the shop and patted his growling stomach. Looking around Megaton, he spotted a short building with an open front and a few people sitting on stools. He shrugged and made his way down, taking a seat at the counter.

A woman in a yellow jumpsuit approached him a friendly smile. "Now, I know I've never seen you in Megaton before. Let me guess, you're just passing through?" She asked sardonically.

"Maybe," Dare replied with a shrug. "I just got here. I need to get my bearings, though I would like to buy some food."

She crossed her arms. "That, I can help you with. What can I whip up for you, Mr.?"

"Dare. Uh, Iguana Bits, please? And a can of Pork'n'Beans, to take." He replied, withdrawing his cap pouch, which brushed against the bottle of cola. "And can you slip this in your fridge?"

"Sure thing. That'll be fifteen caps. I'm Jenny Stahl, by the way." She answered, brushing back a few strands of orange hair.

Dare slid the caps to her, and she walked off to make his food. Someone sat on the seat next to him, and he peered up to see a man with an eye-patch and a head wrap giving him a friendly smile.

 _What is it with this town where everybody seems to be smiling?_ He inwardly wondered, shaking the man's hand.

"Hey there, I couldn't help but overhear that you're new here." The man greeted. "Name's Billy Creel. If you don't mind me askin', where're you from?"

Dare blinked. "I'm from the Pacific North-Wasteland, the Ruins of Seattle."

The man drew back, thoughtful frown on his face. "Well, I can't say that name rings a bell with me. Where is that?"

"West. Far west. It's on the other side of America." He explained, playing with a fork. "I traveled with a caravan for a couple of years to get here."

"Wow-ee." Billy whistled. "That's quite the distance. I haven't seen anyone else new around here, where's your caravan?"

Cold anger seeped through him and into his expression, making Billy draw back warily. "We were attacked by slavers. I was the only one who got away." He turned a narrow gaze on the other man. "Do you know anything about them?"

"Slavers? Naw, man, sorry." Billy apologized with a shrug. "You'll want to talk to Colin Moriarty, in Moriarty's Saloon. If anyone'll know, it'll be that scumbag."

Dare nodded. "Thanks."

They sat in silence before Jenny came back with his food and chilled cola. He popped off the cap and gave it to her, digging into his food eagerly.

"Well, time's come for me to go. Maggie awaits." Billy announced. "Dare, good luck with your slavers. Jenny…I'll see you later."

Jenny giggled and waved at Billy, fluttering her eyelashes. Dare quirked an eyebrow at the two before shaking his head.

After he finished his meal, he made his way up to Saloon and found it in short order. Inside, there were several people, though the most notable was the man behind the bar. He appeared to have the flesh peeling from his bones, and his voice sounded like he chewed gravel for fun.

Dare approached the bar. "Hey there. I want to speak to Colin Moriarty."

"He's in the back, and he won't be coming out until tomorrow." The Ghoul replied, cleaning out a glass.

"I can't speak to him? It's important." He insisted, leaning on the counter.

"Sorry, can't help you. I'd rather not get smacked around for nothin', kid." The Ghoul answered.

Dare sighed angrily, rubbing the bridge of his nose. _Well, not everyone is all smiles and friendliness._

"You're not gonna yell at me?" The Ghoulish bartender asked in what seemed to be surprise. "Or throw anything at my head?"

Dare gave him a questioning and slightly peeved look. "No. Why would I do that? I can understand not wanting to get beat, I won't hold that against you."

"Huh. Well, my name's Gob. If there's anything else I can do for ya, don't hesitate to ask." Gob replied.

"Can I get three fingers of scotch?" Dare shot back.

"Sure thing, pal."

He paid the ghoul and took his glass, looking for a place to sit. As he walked into another room, his attention was drawn to a man who was very out of place among the Megaton people.

He wore a grey suit and tie, with glasses and brown hat. "My, my. Just when I had all but given up hope."

His voice was an odd mixture of glacial and gravelly. "My dear boy, I am very happy to make your acquaintance. I am Mister Burke."

A shiver went up Dare's spine, though he hid it well. _This man is dangerous,_ he thought, _and I get the feeling he has something important to say._

"And you, well, you are not a resident of this," He sniffed disdainfully, "Putrescent cesspool. That makes you a rather valuable individual."

 _I have to play this very carefully._ "Mister Burke, is it?" Dare asked politely, "Would you mind if I took a seat? I find myself…enthralled."

A cold smile spread over his lips, and he tilted his head at the seat across from him. "Finally, someone with a modicum of civility and common sense. Please, have a seat."

Dare sat across from him, taking a sip of his liquor to steel his nerves.

"I represent certain…interests," Burke began, "And those interests view this town, this…"Megaton," as a blight on a burgeoning urban landscape. You have no connections here. No interest in this cesspool's affairs, or fate. You could assist us in erasing this little accident off the map."

Inwardly, Dare felt a chill. _They want to detonate the nuke._ He took another sip of his drink, directing veiled looks of disgust at the walls around him. "Go on. I'm listening, and very interested."

The approving smile on Burke's face sent a feeling of shame through him, even though he was acting along. "The undetonated atomic bomb for which this town is named is still _very much_ alive. All it needs is a little…" He chuckled darkly. " _Motivation."_

He patted the briefcase sitting next to his legs. "I have in my possession a Fusion Pulse Charge constructed for a singular purpose-the detonation of that bomb. You'll rig it to the bomb, and then you'll get paid. Handsomely. What do you say?"

Dare finished off his scotch. _Whoever wants this done has access to a lot of resources. 'A blight upon a burgeoning urban landscape', so they want Megaton gone for some reason. Financial, maybe?_ "I would be tinkering with a very dangerous weapon," He reasoned, "And it could draw the wrong kind of attention. If you threw in, say, five hundred caps to the payment, as hazard pay…then, I don't see a reason why I should refuse."

Mister Burke smiled widely, reminding Dare of a satisfied shark. "Well played. An extra five hundred caps, in addition to the base fee, when Megaton lies in ruins. Here's the Fusion Pulse Charge." He slid the briefcase along the floor. "Place it in the bomb. When you're done, meet me at Tenpenny Tower. It's southwest of here, well out of harm's way. You can't miss it. Any questions?"

Dare shook his head. "None at all. Have a nice night, Mister Burke." He stood and left, taking the briefcase with him.

"And to you as well, my dear boy." Burke replied, laughing quietly to himself.

…

Dare stared at the cracked ceiling of the Common House, trying to ignore the lumpy feeling of the Fusion Pulse Charge under his pillow. _I could make a lot of money…but can I really sacrifice my morals, and all the people living here for that? I could use the money to track down the slavers…but I'd be damning a town full of people. And for what? Caps?_

He turned, switching his gaze to the wall. Sleep would not come easy that night.

…

The sun beat down on his head as he walked towards the building in the distance. Burke was right, he couldn't miss Tenpenny Tower; it was the tallest building for miles around.

 _I really should get a hat,_ He grumbled to himself, wiping the sweat away from his forehead.

As he trotted over the dry land, he marked several nearby ruins as places to scavenge later. Arriving at the Tower's base, he found a ghoul in leather armor barking angrily at an intercom.

"Fine! If that's the way you want to play it, you damn smooth-skin, then I hope you're ready for the consequences!" The ghoul shouted, stalking off.

Dare watched him go with a raised eyebrow before approaching the intercom himself and pressing the button.

" _What do you want?! I already told you to fuck off, ghoul!"_ A voice came over loudly.

"Uh, I'm not a ghoul." He replied. "I'm here to see Mister Burke."

" _Oh really? And what business do you have Mr. Tenpenny's right-hand man?"_ The voice asked sarcastically.

Dare sighed, rolling his eyes. "I did a job for him. He told me to meet him here when I was done, and I am." _Assface._

" _Huh. Burke did tell me to look out for a person. Name."_

"Dare."

" _Come in. Try anything funny, you die."_

He didn't bother to answer, and simply waited for the gate to swing open. Inside he met a man in combat armor, with a rough, no-bullshit face. "You're allowed in the tower, but not your weapons. We're confiscating them, and they'll be returned to you once you leave."

Dare nodded and set his rifle, revolver and knife on the table in front of the man, allowing another guard to quickly frisk him for anything concealed.

Once he was declared clean, he was allowed into the tower.

Despite the years of wear, the inside of Tenpenny Tower was rather opulent, with electricity and clean floors. Every person he saw, who wasn't a security guard, wore clean Pre-War clothes and looked well-washed.

Compared to the Wasteland outside, it was a rather jarring shift.

Dare, in his dark-colored and rough-patched leather armor stuck out like a sore thumb among the clean populace. He blinked in shock when the elevator dinged, and a man in a sweater vest stepped out.

 _They have a working elevator?_ He marveled, stepping the small room and hitting the suite button. _Just how much damn money is in this place?_

The elevator slowed to a stop and the doors slid open, and Dare nearly stepped back when he came face-to-face with Mister Burke. "Ah, I see you've found your way to wonderful place, my dear boy. Mister Tenpenny is very eager to meet you."

He shivered as he followed the creepy man. They passed through an opulent suite before stepping out onto a balcony that gave a wide view of the Wasteland. In the distance, he could spot Megaton.

Burke withdrew a clean and polished ten millimeter pistol with a silencer attached, setting on a small table next to his hat before he stepped onto the balcony, greeting an elderly gentlemen in a bright-red robe with a clean and obviously cared-for sniper rifle leaning against a cushy chair.

"Mr. Tenpenny, this is the young man I was just telling you about." Burke introduced, gesturing towards Dare.

The old man gave him a wide smile, clapping his hands. "Ah, you must be 'Dare', then! The one who rigged that damn blight on view to disappear! Good, good!"

He nodded to him respectfully. "Yes, sir. The bomb is rigged and ready to detonate."

Tenpenny giggled. "Excellent!"

"Yes, very good!" Burke praised with a cold smile. "The detonator switch is all set. Why don't you do the honors?"

Dare shook his head, deferring to the older man. "I simply placed the charge, sir. You're the one who convinced me and came all the way to Megaton and back. It'd only be right for you to do it."

Burke gave him an appraising look, before smiling. "Why thank you, my dear boy. Don't mind if I do."

He approached a metal briefcase, unlocking the latches and opening it up, revealing a switch and several buttons. "Do you mind if I count down, sir?" He asked Tenpenny.

"Oh, no, go ahead! I can't wait to see this!"

As Burke began to count down from ten, Dare took a few subtle steps back and grasped the object he was looking for.

"3…2…1!" Mister Burke cried, throwing switch.

It clicked, but nothing else.

A mechanical cough sounded from behind him, and Tenpenny gagged. He turned quickly, coming nose-to-nose with the barrel of his own pistol.

Dare pulled the trigger, the ten millimeter bullet piercing through Burke's glasses and his left eye, embedding deep in his brain. The body crumpled limply against the railing, and he turned to look at the gagging Tenpenny.

He had grabbed the silenced pistol as Burke threw the switch and shot the elderly man in the throat.

Tenpenny desperately scrabbled at his neck as the crimson liquid spilled over his fingers.

"You are a sick son of bitch," Dare said, almost casually, kneeling next to the dying man. "Wanting to wipe out a town full of innocent people, just because they were blocking your view? I'm doing the world a favor. And I intend to do more."

He pointed the pistol at the man's head, but hesitated. "You deserve this."

Dare stepped away and watched the old man fall still, and the light fade from his eyes. Once he was sure Tenpenny was dead, he frisked the bodies of both men, finding a few keys and the payment he would've received if he had actually rigged the nuke, and not given the Pulse Charge to Simms.

Dare grabbed the sniper rifle and set it against his shoulder, looking out into the Wasteland through the scope and making slight adjustments, smiling at the familiar weight of the sniper.

His smile fell when he remembered that he couldn't leave with it, not in plain view. Quickly, he looked over the railing and spotted a dead tree near the ground. He stripped the robe off of Tenpenny, wrapping the rifle and the pistol, along with the contents of the ammo box nearby (thirty-five .308 sniper ammo and two grenades) in the robe, before securing it further with Burke's jacket.

He carefully dropped the bundle off the side of Tenpenny Tower, watching as it snagged in the branches of the dead tree.

Dare made to leave, but stopped when he saw the fedora on the table. He paused, thinking. _Well, I do need a hat._ He reasoned, before snatching the hat and sticking it in his pack.

He made his way out, snagging a few caps and food items. The hard-faced man sneered at him as he took his rifle, revolver and knife back.

Once he set foot outside of the tower, he quickly stepped around the building and pulled the bundle from the tree. He set the silenced pistol in his pouch, slung the sniper rifle on his back and the hat on his head, carrying the hunting rifle in his arms.

Looking up at the balcony, Dare smiled to himself and set off into the Wasteland.

…

…

…

 **A/N: Been in my mind for awhile now, so I decided to write it up and see what happens. I think it'll be interesting to write, seeing as most of the characters I write about are more frontline combat, and Dare's a sneaky-sneaky sniping type.**

 **I think it'll be fun.**

 **Now, Dare's not the Lone Wanderer, he's an OC. A companion. An Original Companion.**

 **Dare's also not his real name, but I'm holding back on that one. Have to generate interest somehow.**

 **Also, this won't be replacing any of my other projects. I'll write here when the mood strikes, but I can't say the frequency.**

 **I hope you like it, though.**

 **Stay Awesome.**

 **~Soleneus**


	2. 300 Pieces of Silver

They weren't numerous, as Raider packs tended to be. Psychos can only deal with other psychos for so long before a drug or alcohol-fuelled rampage would occur.

Their armor was cobbled together from scraps of leather and metal pieces, mostly kitchen implements. Very few wore head protection, and those that did, well…their headgear wasn't well-made, unless they had stolen it from some unfortunate soul.

The Raider leading the pack waved an SMG in the air, shouting back at the others about something. He ignored the distant boom, preferring the sound of his own voice.

That is, until a sharp _thwip_ cut off his speech forever.

The Raider's head exploded violently, showering the nearby area in blood and bits of brain and bone.

In their shock at his sudden demise, another distant boom went unheard, but the _thwip_ of a .308 bullet piercing under another Raider's jaw, the force messily tearing her head from her shoulders, did not.

They scrambled for cover from an unseen assailant, another sharp whistle ringing as another fell from a bullet to the heart.

One held a hunting rifle to his chest, leaning out to take a shot. Blood sprayed from his head as a round passed through his eye.

The last Raider panted harshly, fumbling for the needle in her pocket while trying to maintain the grip on her bat. She managed to grab it and stab the tip into her leg, sighing in pleasure as the heat raced through her veins.

The Raider stumbled out of cover and charged, screaming at the top of her lungs, heading for the spot the noises echoed from.

Dare quirked an eyebrow at the woman as she sprinted at him, bat held high over her head. He set his sniper aside and pulled the hunting rifle from his back, kneeling and taking aim, calmly shooting her in her screaming mouth.

The top half of her head tumbled to the ground, followed half a second later by her body.

He smirked to himself and stood from his crouch, methodically cycling the bolt on his rifle and reloading the sniper.

Tenpenny was a crazy rich old bastard, but he took care of his gun. The barrel, the stock and the grip had all been reinforced, which meant that they would degrade slower and made repair easier.

Dare looted the body, fashioning a strap from the bra and elastic band of her underwear and tying it to his rifle so that it would hang at his side, leaving his hands free. He took the empty syringe and a pack of bubble-gum, popping a piece in his mouth to chew as he walked.

The other bodies were cleaned of useable items in short order. The hardier pieces of metal and leather were taken to be sold, along with the various chems and weaponry. He switched out the stock of his hunting rifle for a less-weathered piece and stored the SMG for sale, and the ten MM bullets for his own use.

The biggest surprise was the ten .308 bullets he found on the leader's body. The man hadn't had a rifle to use, apparently, and thought that the long bullets would look bad-ass decorating his shoulder-pad, which was made from part of a tire.

Dare stood from his looting and adjusted the hat on his head and began to walk back to Megaton, occasionally popping a bubble as he moved, reloading the empty magazine of his sniper with loose bullets.

The blow he had taken to the back of his conk had definitely scrambled his brains, but he was glad to see that his sniping skills were unaffected. With the familiar weight of a sniper on his back, his gait had become smoother, more confident. It was a weapon he preferred using, and knew how to use it well; it affected his mood, making him more comfortable.

The sniper above Megaton's gate gave him a strange look as he strode through the entrance, laden with more weapons than he had left with.

The first person he met in Megaton was the Sheriff, Lucas Simms. Dare got the impression that the man had been waiting for him to return.

The man approached him quickly. "So, did you do it?" He asked with preamble, tapping one booted foot nervously.

Dare nodded, retrieving a small wrapped package from his pouch, presenting them to Simms. "Yup."

Lucas unrolled the package, his eyes scanning the pair of severed fingers intensely. "How can I be sure these aren't two random fingers offa pair of Raiders?" He asked seriously.

The younger man pointed up at his hat, and jacked a thumb at the sniper. "This is Burke's hat, and this is Tenpenny's rifle." He replied simply.

Simms studied him for a minute, before a wide smile cracked his weathered face. "Good job, son. You've done a good thing for the people of Megaton, a very good thing. And that's not something we'd let go unrewarded." He presented Dare with a rolled up piece of paper. "Here, take this."

The young sniper took the paper and unrolled it, catching a key that was inside. "What's this?" He asked, trying to read the letters.

"It's the deed to that house over there." Lucas replied, still smiling and pointing over his shoulder at the house behind him. "We got together and decided to gift it to you as a town, for disarming that nuke and taking care of the bastards who wanted to blow it, and us, to hell."

"I, uh, thank you, Sheriff." Dare stuttered, an odd feeling of warmth and satisfaction welling up inside of him. "Er, why did you have me cut off their fingers, though?" That had been kind of a weird request, and a little disturbing.

The Sheriff of Megaton patted him on the shoulder. "Son, keeping doing what you've done and you'll find out. Have a good day."

"You too." Dare looked up the house- _his_ house- and frowned thoughtfully, striding up to the door and sliding the key inside, unlocking the door.

Entering, he was greeted by a Mr. Handy, a floating, multi-limbed robot, who spoke in a posh sort of accent. "Good evening sir, I am your humble servant, Wadsworth. How can I help you today?"

He blinked in surprise. "What can you do?" He blurted.

The robot seemed offended. "I am fully capable of multiple functions, sir. I can clean, cook, provide haircuts, and my moisture gatherers can produce clean drinking water! I am also capable of protecting your home." It sprayed a small spurt of flame from the flamethrower to prove this.

"I meant no offense," Dare apologized, "I've just…never had a personal robot before."

"None taken, sir. Can I do anything for you?" It asked, the limbs slowly rotating.

"How many bottles of water can you produce, Wadsworth?"

The robot ticked. "Four bottles are my maximum, sir. Would you like me to dispense them for you?"

He nodded thankfully. "Yes, please."

As the robot moved off to fill the bottles, Dare approached the somewhat shiny stand with 'Vault-Tec' proudly emblazoned on the front. It had several empty circular spaces, one that seemed to match something, but what?

Dare snapped his fingers, digging around in his pouch and making a noise of triumph as he withdrew a battered bobble-head doll of the Vault-Boy, holding a cartoonish-looking pistol. He peered at the bottom of the statue, finding a number that matched to the stand and set it down.

Wadsworth poked him in the back, presenting him with the bottles filled with fresh, clean water. "Thank you." Dare thanked him, storing one in his pouch, and the others in his working fridge to chill.

Exiting his house, leaving his sniper and hunting rifle inside, he walked over to Craterside Supply to sell off his baggage. Upon entering the establishment, Moira greeted him cheerfully. "I heard you're the new owner of that house over there! Just so you know, I sell house themes, too, so you can change the way your house looks!"

Dare scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I'll keep that in mind. I have some things I'd like to sell."

"Sure! Whip 'em out and I'll see what I can do!" She replied with an over-the-top wink.

He smiled charmingly, setting the items on the counter. The profit he managed to make was nice, filling the bag dedicated as a wallet even further. "Do you have any .357 bullets?" He asked after selling his things.

"Sure do! How many would you like?" Moira replied, pulling a couple of boxes from a locker.

"I'll take two boxes, please."

After paying her, he left with a wave to the proprietor, and Dare made his way to Moriarty's Saloon. He found it to be relatively empty except for Gob, a woman with short red hair leaning against a stairwell, and an older man with white hair and a beard, smoking while sitting at the counter and drinking from a bottle of beer.

"Are you Colin Moriarty?" He asked, approaching the man.

Moriarty turned an annoyed stare at the younger man. "Who's askin'?" He replied with an accent Dare couldn't place.

"Dare. I heard you're the one to talk to for information." Dare said.

The older man gave him a wary look. "Aye, that'd be me. So, you're the little newbie who disarmed the big, bad nuke we all sit our lovely arses on. How pleasant to meet ya."

Dare didn't respond, simply crossing his arms. It was obviously a fake sentiment.

"Stoic one, aren't ya? Fine, I can play that way. What do ya wanna know, oh disarming one?" Moriarty asked, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Do you know where slavers operate in this area?" He asked bluntly

Colin quirked an eyebrow at that. "Oho! Now, why do ya want to know that? Lookin' to join up?"

Dare tapped his revolver meaningfully. "If by join, you mean 'shoot every one of them in their black hearts', then yes, yes I am."

"And how much would this information be worth to ya?" Moriarty asked, with a greedy gleam in his eye.

"The lives of seventeen people." He answered harshly.

"Ooh, that does sound like quite a bit," The older man said sarcastically, stroking his beard. "Tell ya what: you hand over two hundred caps, and I'll tell ya. Or, you could do a little job for me, and then I'll tell ya?"

Dare sighed, restraining the urge to pull his gun and press it under the greasy bastards' chin until he squealed. "What job?" He gritted out, clenching his fists.

Colin grinned nastily. "Before Nova, there," He pointed at the red-head, who gave Dare a wink, "I had another girl, named Silver, who was the provider of fun times for the customers. But one day, she started screaming at me, socked me in the jaw, and stole four hundred caps before running off. What I want you to do, is find Silver, hiding out in her little shack outside of town, and get my caps back. Kill her or steal them, I don't particularly care."

 _I want to sock you in the jaw, you slimy bastard._ Dare snarled mentally. "If you know where she is, why don't you get your caps yourself?"

Moriarty shrugged and took a drag. "I heard she's taken to shooting herself full o' drugs, and that's just not pleasant to see."

His eye twitched, and he nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll get your caps. Wait here."

He left the premises, marching towards the entrance with a grim bent to his mouth. _There's no way in hell I'd give that man any of my money._ He thought, stalking out of the gate. _I'll find this girl and hear her side of side of the story. Moriarty's definitely not telling me the whole thing._

Once he was out of sight of the town, Dare relaxed and popped a piece of gum in his mouth, scanning the area. There were only two houses still standing, not including the school, and one was boarded up. The one with the free door must've been where Silver lived.

Heading towards the shack, he watched the area carefully, stopping as a ball-shaped robot blaring a marching tune floated past. Keeping his hands loose, Dare knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" A scratchy but feminine voice called warily.

"My name is Dare. Colin Moriarty sent me to retrieve his caps, but I don't believe his story. Can I come in and hear your side, Silver?" He answered, listening for the sound of an impending attack.

The lock on the door clicked, and it opened slowly, revealing a young woman with silver-blonde hair pointing a small revolver at him. "You mean it? You ain't here to kill me?" She asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

Dare nodded carefully. "Yes."

Silver looked him over with jittery blue eyes before gesturing with her gun. "You can come in, but try anything and I'll fill you full of holes."

"I know." It seemed that everyone with a gun would say the same thing wherever he went.

He sat at a small table across from the blonde woman, noticing the syringes scattered on the counter. "Why don't you tell me what happened."

"You want to know what happened?" She snarled, planting her gloved hands on the table. "I used to work for that bastard, doing…favors…y'know, for men. Working off the debt I owed him. I got tired of the life after I made it back and told him I wanted out. I even slept with the bastard to seal the deal!"

Dare grimaced. _Not an image I want in my head._ "Then what?"

Silver scoffed, rubbing her nose. "The next morning, he told me the deal was off and that I couldn't leave. So I punched that slob in the face and grabbed what he owed me and ran. And then he labeled me a junkie and a thief!"

He gave the visible drugs an obvious look and turned a dry gaze on her.

She frowned. "I never said I wasn't a junkie, ass! But I'm no thief! I only took what I was owed!"

Dare sighed, rubbing his chin in thought. _I'm more inclined to believe Silver in this case, but this kind of life isn't something she should be living._ "What do you do, Silver?" He asked suddenly. "How do you live?"

"Moira slips me some food when she can. Otherwise, I just shoot up until I forget my name. What else is there to do?" She replied miserably, cradling her head. "The Wasteland fucking sucks."

"There's nothing you want to do?" Dare questioned. "Nothing you can think of? Don't you want your life to be better?"

Silver slammed her hand on the table. "Oh, like what, you fuckin' prick, suck cocks day and night for caps?! No fucking thank-you!"

"So you're just going to stab a needle in your arm every morning and wait to get killed? Is that it?" He returned just as loudly. "You just gonna veg until a Raider kicks in your door? Huh?"

Silver stood and yelled in his face, spit flying from her lips. "What if I want to, huh? What if all I care about is the next fix until my brain leaks out of my ears, then what? Who fucking cares?!"

"Then you're nothing but a walking corpse." Dare hissed, harshly poking her chest. "You're worse than a whore. You're a bag of meat, waiting to get popped."

"You fuckin'-!" She grabbed at the revolver she set on the table and brought it up.

Dare twisted the gun from her grip and tossed it across the room. Silver tried to punch him, her wild swing missing as he stepped back, sending her tumbling to the ground, where she lay. "Why the fuck do you care, man? Just kill me or leave me to rot, you bastard…"

He sighed heavily and sat next to her on the ground. "My uncle used to tell me something when I was younger. He said, 'Why are you pitching a fit? Do you know how many people are out there right now, fighting and dying for something important? What makes you so special, that you can just whine all day?'"

That speech had been directed at new militia recruits and was far more curse-laden, and he had simply been watching, but it fit the situation.

Silver sniffed pitifully. "I can't do nothin'. All I know is how to take a dick. There's nothing I can give."

"I don't believe that." Dare rebuked gently, hesitantly laying a hand on her back. When she made no move to remove it, he slowly stroked her side. "There isn't anything you like doing? Any hobbies that don't include drugs?"

"Well…" She muttered thoughtfully, "I always liked messing around terminals. I could crack one of the little bastards in seconds…I only took up whorin' to pay off my debt to that bastard…"

"That's something you could do. There's a lot of information locked in terminals that could help a lot of people." Dare commented, patting her back encouragingly. He sighed and licked his lips. "Listen, I'll pay Moriarty off, and tell him you're dead, but you have to do something for me."

Silver rolled over, giving him a pitiful look. "You would?"

Dare nodded seriously. "I would. It's in my nature to help who I can. My parents raised me to."

"What-what would I have to do?" She asked slowly, wiping her face.

"Quit taking drugs. Maybe you can ask Moira to help you learn how to crack terminals, do some jobs, get some experience." He hesitated, his mind telling him to stop it there, but his heart cut in. "I have a house in Megaton. You can live with me there while you're getting on your feet."

He half-hoped she would refuse him for going to far. "This isn't some kind of trick to make me a slave, is it?" Silver asked suspiciously.

"Of course not!" He protested vehemently.

She drew back at his shout before sitting up. "You…you really want to help me? A no-good junkie?" Silver whispered.

Dare nodded, laying a hand on her shoulder. "I do."

She looked down in silence, deep in thought. "…Alright. I'll do it. Quit the drugs and…and come with you. But, you swear you won't…fuck me over?" Silver turned wide, wet blue eyes on him.

Dare swallowed, cursing his bleeding heart. "I swear, Silver. I won't fuck you over. I just want to help."

She bit her lip, rocking slightly. "Can you go outside? I need to pack up, but I need to…gather myself. Please?"

He nodded, patting her shoulder once again. "Alright. Don't take too long."

Exiting the house, Dare sighed deeply, refraining from punching himself in the face. _What the hell was that?!_ He shouted at himself, gripping his head. _You can't just offer every pretty, damaged girl with a shit history your home! You idiot!_

He knocked his skull with his knuckles. _Mom and Dad both would've done the same thing…well, actually, Mom would've smacked her around and then ordered her to shape up or she would knee-cap her. And dad would've flirted with her the whole time, made her feel like she was the most important woman in the world. And then told her to shape up._

Dare turned as the door opened, revealing Silver with a pack on her back, the house empty of lamps, batteries and anything useful. He peered in and noticed that the Jet was piled in one corner of the room in pieces. _She must've stomped on it._

"You ready?" He asked gently.

She nodded, taking a deep, bracing breath. "Yeah…no, not really." She smiled sardonically.

They began to walk to Megaton in silence, the young woman sticking to Dare's side carefully, drawing the hood up on her jacket to hide her hair. He waved to the sniper above the gate-he really should learn his name-and directed Silver to his house.

"Wadsworth, this is Silver. She's a guest, treat her kindly, okay?"

The Mr. Handy spun eagerly. "Of course, sir!"

Dare pointed upstairs. "There are a couple of beds you can use. You should probably get some sleep, the next few days aren't going to be very fun for either of us."

She nodded meekly. "Dare…thanks for doing this…I know you coulda just shot me and took the caps, but…thanks."

He gave her a small smile. "You won't be thanking me soon enough, but I appreciate it."

Silver fiddled with her fingers before she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, quickly drawing away.

Dare left the house, heading towards the Saloon. Silver could do anything in his new house, but he was sure Wadsworth could defend himself if need be.

As he approached the Saloon, he drew on his Sniper's Mind, smoothing over his face with a cold expression. Shoving open the door, he spotted the white-haired Moriarty and tossed a pouch containing two-hundred and fifty caps at the man. "Silver's dead." He explained shortly. "That's all she had on her."

Moriarty weighed the bag in his hand and shrugged. "Ah well. Now that you've gone and done that for me, I'll give you the information you want." He leaned on the bar, blowing a cloud of smoke in Dare's face. "The slavers around here operate out a place called 'Paradise Falls.' It's a fuckin' fortress, one way in and one way out, filled to the brim with the worst sort of slavers and mercs you'll ever see. It's almost directly north of here; you can't miss it, or the big fuckin' statue of a fat boy with an ice-cream cone."

Dare sighed angrily. _Great. I should've expected this._

"And before you go all-a chargin' off to get killed by slavers, why don't you put your caps to good use and buy a drink?" Moriarty suggested with a smile. "Or take Nova for a spin, who gives a fuck?"

He gave the older man a dirty look and left the bar, heading back to his house. Sitting on his bed with a bottle of cold water, Dare thought over the events of the day. He scrubbed a hand over his face and shook his head. _Two goddamn days and I'm already deep in it._ He thought, sighing. _What's next?_

…

There were several stages to getting over an addiction. Jitters, nerves and a few emotional stages.

Silver started shaking around noon, dropping the fork she was eating with. Her eyes shook in their sockets as she curled up into a ball, whimpering.

Dare sat next to her, giving her silent support and comfort.

Anger came next.

She lashed out, shouting and screaming, waving her gun around and demanding Jet. Dare disarmed her again and locked her in her room, ignoring the threats to his livelihood and manhood while methodically cleaning his guns.

By the time the next morning rolled around, Silver had moved onto bargaining, offering everything from sex to her blood, for some reason, for a dose. Dare left the house after slipping her a plate of food, to fix the leaky pipes around Megaton and getting paid for his help.

That night, he checked in on Silver, to find that she had stripped herself almost naked with a high fever. He watched over her carefully, doing his best to keep her comfortable while her body rejected the craving.

And when her fever broke and the nightmares started, he covered her with a blanket and held her while she cried in her sleep.

The next morning rolled around, finding Dare tucking Silver in as she rested peacefully. He had approached Lucas Simms the day before, asking the man to check in on her every couple of hours. He'd also told the man who Silver was and why he was helping her, and the duster-clad Sheriff was eager to get one over Moriarty, even if secretly.

Dare dressed after giving Silver, and then himself a sponge bath, setting his sniper on his back and holstering his revolver, the silenced pistol hidden in one of his pouches.

Today's objective was recon of Paradise Falls. Whatever Moriarty had said of the place, he needed to see it with his own two eyes. Then, he would make a plan, and he would deal with the situation.

He set off before noon, with his hat covering his eyes from the sun's glare and a piece of gum in his mouth.

He headed north, skirting the irradiated river when ever possible, avoiding the large, shelled creatures called Mirelurks.

The weathered statue of a fat man excitedly holding an ice-cream cone mid-jump eventually came into view, and as it grew closer, Dare began to slow down, watching his surroundings closely. Spotting an out-cropping for rock with a good view of the walled slaver-haven, he climbed it and set up on top, laying down and covering himself with his newest acquisition.

While Silver was going cold turkey, Dare had went to Moira and bought a good amount of simple, rough cloth. Part of that had been cut into long strips, lightly dabbed with grease and brushed with dirt, and then wrapped around his sniper rifle camouflage it. Too much cloth would mess with his aim, and the function of the rifle itself, so did much the same to the metal, reducing the shininess.

The rest of the cloth had been cut into smaller strips and made into a rough covering, the strips greased and dirtied to make a camouflage suit. Dare forgot the exact name, but besides the sniper and the sniper's mind, it was one of their greatest tools.

After he covered himself in the suit, he also pulled a small tin and opened it, dabbing a bit of the contents-grease mixed with black ink-and wiping it on his face, going from the tip of his eyebrows, down the bridge of his nose and under his eyes, ending after covering the bottom lid. It was to reduce the glare of the sunlight; the light would be drawn in the black ink instead of entering his eyes.

Settling himself in his perch, Dare peered through the scope and scanned Paradise Falls. He was not surprised to find that what he saw disgusted him. Slavers hung around, some drinking, others playing pool, or just chatting and poking at the slaves with sticks through an electrified fence.

He watched the buildings, seeing a man in metal, spiked armor walking out a building while adjusting his pants with a satisfied smile on his face.

Dare was more than just tempted to begin shooting every Slaver in sight, his finger tight on the trigger, but his common sense stopped him. He had no actionable intel. He didn't know who led those bastards, and it was more likely than not that if he attacked, they would detonate the slave's collars just to spite him.

Sighing in despair, he closed his eyes, quietly praying for forgiveness. Looking through the scope again, he felt anger fill him again. One of the bastards with a Mohawk was poking a child slave rather viciously with a pointed stick, drawing blood from what he could see.

Dare's finger twitched. He accessed his Sniper's Mind, allowing cold logic to wash over and soothe his anger. The twitching was gone, leaving only a shrewd eye for killing.

He noticed a metal sign hanging above the bar by a pair of chains. _Snapping the closest chain would send the sign swinging into the targets back,_ he deduced, _but it might miss. Or…it could swing into someone else._

Taking aim, adjusting for drop and wind, he fired.

Dare followed the bullet mentally as it traveled through the air, watching as it arched and hit the chain. The metal links snapped, sending the stamped metal sign swinging at the merc in metal armor walking by.

It impacted lightly, not doing any damage, really, but surprising the blond man in to skipping back in surprise, accidently knocking against the mohawked slaver's back, sending him face-first into the electrified fence.

Dare watched the man get electrocuted with a vicious, satisfied smirk. "Outstanding." He muttered to himself.

"I swear I heard a shot, man!" A voice yelled from down and behind him.

Dare froze, slowly turning his head.

"I heard it too!"

A man with an assault rifle crouch-walked around the outcropping, peering at anything and everything cautiously. Behind him were three people, two women and one man, all looking beaten with slave collars around their necks. And behind them was another man, this one with a hunting rifle.

Slavers. With fresh slaves to sell.

 _Not on my watch._

Dare carefully and slowly pushed himself into a kneel, quietly drawing his silenced pistol and taking aim. As the slaver at the back passed, he shot him in the back of the head. The other man turned quickly, and Dare landed a bullet between his eyes, dropping both men within two seconds.

The slaves, more than scared out of their minds, quickly ducked and huddled together in fear. Grabbing his rifle around the middle, he quickly slid down the outcrop and landed next to one of the bodies.

The slaves looked at him with fear in their eyes, and he put a finger to his lips. Carefully beckoning them to him, he drew his knife and a bobby pin, pointing at their necks. "Let me get those off." He whispered kindly.

One of the women edged towards him, shaking. Dare went to work unlocking the small hatch. After it opened, he dug the tip of the knife and the bobby pin into the circuit, cutting through the wires connecting to the detonator and pulling it away.

He pulled the collar off and set it aside before moving on to the other two, doing the same to their collars. "There, all done. Can any of you use weapons?" Kind of a dumb question, but an important one.

They all nodded, and he policed the weaponry from the dead men, giving the slaves an assault rifle, the other the hunting rifle, and the last a nine-millimeter pistol. After also taking anything else of worth, he gestured for them to follow him. "I lead you to Megaton, okay? Just follow me, and keep an eye on your surroundings."

As they slunk away, Dare removed the camouflage and stored it away, drawing his revolver.

It was slow going. The former slaves were weak from abuse and starvation, so he gave them one of his pure bottles of water to share.

They made it to Megaton as the moon was rising behind them. The sniper gave them a very strange look, but waved them inside before he closed the gate for the night.

Entering Megaton, the first person he spied was Sheriff Simms as he headed for his house. Dare whistled, getting the man's attention.

The man sighed and approached them. "What's all this?"

Before he could answer, one of the former slaves interjected. "This man freed us! He killed the slavers and disarmed our bomb collars!"

Simms gave Dare an appraising look. "Really now? Well, you folks are safe here. Let me take you to see our Doc and set you up for the night. We'll handle the rest in the morning."

As he directed the slaves to the Doctor's, Simms smiled at Dare. "Good job, son."

Dare nodded to the man, and set off towards Craterside Supply, hoping to catch Moira before she locked up for the night. "Moira!" He called, seeing the woman turning her light off.

"Oh, Dare! Sorry to say, but I'm all closed for the night." She replied regretfully, but still with a cheerful tone, somehow.

"I'm not looking to sell anything…right now." He did get some stuff off of the slavers, but that wasn't what he was talking to her for. "Listen, do you remember Silver?"

Moira perked up. "Oh yes, the poor girl who lives outside. How do you know her?"

He scratched at the back of his head sheepishly. "I convinced her to quit Jet, and she lives in my house now. But, she told me that she's good with terminals, and I heard that your really good with them as well."

She nodded happily. "Yup! I just love tinkering with little things, it's very fun! And informative, too."

"Right. I was wondering, if it isn't too much trouble, could you teach her? Help her get experience and all that? I'll pay you." He thought for a second. "Actually, can you teach me as well? I'm not all that good with stuff like that."

Moira hummed in thought. "Well…if it's for a good cause…I don't see why not! Should I come over now?"

Dare shook his head. "Er, no. She's recovering from her addiction."

"Oh. Alrighty then."

"Moira, can you keep it a secret?" He asked seriously. "I told Moriarty she was dead to get him off her back."

She frowned lightly. "Why would I tell him anything? But in return to teaching you guys, I think I have another way you could repay me."

Dare blinked and nodded. "What?"

Moira waved him off, shaking her head. "Not right now, I'll tell you later." She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "It's very sweet of you to help her like this, just so you know."

He hid his embarrassment well, lightly scratching his cheek. "I can't help it. I have to help people. It's how I was raised."

She patted him on the shoulder and gave him a smile. "As I said, sweet. Sweet dreams, Dare."

"Night, Moira."

She disappeared into her store, the door locking behind her. Dare sighed and strode back to his house. After heating up some water, he washed the ink from his face and changed into some lighter clothes.

He walked up the stairs and checked in on Silver, finding the food and water he had left her gone, and her sleeping peacefully.

Smiling lightly to himself, he lay down on his bed and quickly fell asleep.

…

…

…

 **A/N: Well, that was quick. It's New Story Syndrome (NSS), where a new story grabs an author's attention because it's different. I'll probably lose interest in this in a bit, who knows?**

 **Writing about a sniper is interesting, as well as Dare's morality. Despite being a cold sniper with a rather grey morality and brutal enjoyment of killing people at a distance, he hates injustice.**

 **And yes, he did make a Ghillie suit.**

 **I meant to put this in the first chapter, but here it is instead:**

 _ **Character Profile: Dare**_

 _ **A.K.A: ?**_

 _ **Son of sniper and a Ranger, born in the Pacific North-Wasteland, Ruins of Seattle, and trained by his parents since he was able to understand complex concepts. A talented sniper who, instead of joining the militia or the NCR, left with a caravan to wander and find himself. Prefers using rifles and pistols.**_

 _ **Sniper's Mind: A condition that's run in his father's side of the family, almost all of whom were snipers at some point in their lives. It's trained into them at a young age, dampening emotion and enhancing their perception. ?. Theorized to be minor and benign mutation.**_

 **It's also interesting, because besides his training and Sniper's Mind, Dare is basically a regular guy. For the Wasteland, in any case.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this. Why not review and tell me if you did?**

 **If you didn't…fuck off, maybe?**

 **Stay Awesome.**

 **~Soleneus**

 **P.S.: I really don't know how long my interest in this will last, but it's refreshing to not write about Mass Effect for awhile, though I am still working on Still Not a Hero, no worries there.**

 **S'all I got.**

 **Stay Awesome Some More.**

 **~still Soleneus**


	3. Blood is Thicker Than Alcohol

Dare sat down at his table, setting a chilled bottle of Brahmin milk next to the bowl. He wiped the moisture from his head with a rag, the remains of his morning wash lingering on his shirtless chest.

Opening the box Sugar Bombs cereal, he poured a number of the bomb-shaped breakfast items into his bowl and poured milk over that, inwardly shaking his head at Pre-War Humanity. _Nuka-Cola, Sugar Bombs…they were certainly fond of tempting fate._ He thought dryly, munching on his breakfast. _I'm surprised the planet didn't explode out of pure spite._

The shuffle of clothes and light, tapping footsteps made Dare look up to see Silver descending down the stairs, her arms tightly wrapped around herself, looking pale and withdrawn. She sat across from him with her hood up, sighing quietly.

He got up and retrieved another bowl and a spoon, filling it with cereal and milk and sliding it to her. She mumbled her thanks and listlessly began to eat. "How are you feeling?" He asked quietly.

Silver gave him a dry look and snorted. "Like shit…but better than yesterday. Tired as all hell, though."

"You should feel better in a couple of days, if that's any help." Dare replied, reaching over and patting her hand.

She gave him a thin smile and continued eating.

Drinking down his milk, he sighed and stood, dropping the dishes in the sink. "I'll be going to Paradise Falls again, and I'll probably be gone all day. If you need anything, just ask Wadsworth. Will you be okay?"

Silver nodded, patting the hand he put on her shoulder. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Probably just going to sleep, mostly."

He squeezed her shoulder lightly and proceeded to pull his leather armor on, strapping the pack to his back and the various pouches to his belt. He set his sniper on his back and his revolver in the holster.

"Hey, Dare?" Silver called quietly.

Dare turned to look at her. "Yes?"

She stood from the table and slowly wrapped her arms around his middle, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Be careful, okay?"

He hugged her back, laying his chin on top of hers. "I will."

"'Kay." Silver withdrew, sitting at the table again.

Dare left the house and made his way out of Megaton, waving to the sniper as he walked, popping a piece of gum into his mouth. As he passed by Springvale Elementary, he noticed movement, and after checking his scope, he found that it was occupied by Raiders.

He hummed in thought, marking it as a place to clear out later, and moved on.

…

Dare growled lightly as the sun began to set.

A full day of watching Paradise Falls had revealed several facts, useful facts. The guards at the entrance only let in people who looked the part of Slavers. Typically carrying automatic weapons; roughly-dressed but not the scraps of clothing like Raiders, and shit attitudes.

As with all hives of scum and villainy, there was tension between the slavers and mercs, though no one acted on it.

And finally, he spotted the man who was obviously the leader of the pack. A black man wearing a crimson suit, who was usually followed around by either a black or white woman in dresses (and only dresses, presumably). Dare could tell he was the leader by the way everyone else's body language instantly became deferential whenever the man strolled by.

There was no description for how tempted he was to pull the trigger and watch that man's smugly smirking face become pulp on the dirt.

He ground the gum between his teeth as he stomped towards Megaton, and as the ruined school came into view, Dare stopped and stared at it for a few seconds. "That'll work." He muttered, changing direction.

As the school ruins loomed, he set his sniper aside, covering it with a bush and marking the position before drawing his silenced pistol and his knife. Crouching low, he snuck around the side of the building and began to climb up it.

Peeking inside a window, he found a Raider with a rifle leaning against a pillar, 'on watch' while lamenting his boredom to no one. Dare pulled himself inside and shot the man in the back of the head, listening closely for any signs of alarm. Hearing none, he made his way down, taking out another sleeping Raider.

On the bottom floor, he found a door that lead into the school itself. Slowly pushing it open, he checked the hallway, and finding no one there, slipped in.

Dare stood still, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. Once he felt comfortable looking around, he set off into the school. According to the signs, he was on the basement level.

There wasn't much, only two rooms that hadn't been blocked off by rubble. One was a storeroom, which had only a bottle of scotch, a carton of cigarettes and a few bottle caps. The other was locked and the key was somewhere else.

As he exited that room, he nearly ran into a Raider. Before man could shout, Dare tackled him to the floor, pushing his knee into the other man's stomach and driving his knife through one of the eyes.

Pulling away, he pocketed the pistol and his ammo and made his way to the stairwell. Upon exiting it, he found himself on the main floor of the school, a Raider's back turned to him. Holstering the pistol and switching the knife to his right hand, he snuck up on the woman and slapped a hand over her mouth, stabbing his blade through her ear.

Once she had fallen limp, he dragged the corpse into the stairwell and took the chems off of it. Then he moved deeper in, capping two sleeping Raiders as he passed their bed-rolls. He searched through the first-aid kits in the bathrooms, taking the bandages and the stimpacks inside. Another Raider was making something in the kitchen, and another bullet was spent on his head.

His squirrel on a stick was also eaten.

The next stop was the foyer, the look of which caused Dare to pause. The biggest attention-grabber was the large cage in the center of the room, and several naked, mutilated bodies that hung from meat-hooks.

 _Raiders have a really shitty sense of interior decoration, but it gets the message across._ He thought dryly, shooting a sleeping Raider in the head.

He froze when the growl of an animal echoed through the building. _A dog. This just got harder._

Slipping away from the foyer, he ascended another staircase, finding a broken door with sign on the wall, bearing the faded word, 'Library'.

Pushing through the door, Dare found a Raider patrolling the empty library, just as she spun on her foot and spotted him.

"Fucker-!"

He pulled the trigger twice, sending two bullets into her chest and head respectively. The body slumping to the floor was drowned out by a shout from behind the door she was guarding.

Dare quietly pressed himself against the wall nearby, hearing the growls of a dog on the other side.

Suddenly, the wall burst outwards, throwing him to the floor, knocking the pistol from his hand, pain flaring in his side.

His eyes snapped open, having reflexively closed to protect himself from the dust, and he saw a dog covered in lesions leaping at him while a Raider in heavier armor pointed a shotgun at him.

He blinked.

Time slowed to a crawl. Dare could see the dust motes hanging in the air, the drool flying from the dog's jaws, the angry grimace twisting the Raider's face as he slowly, so slowly, brought up his shotgun.

His hand fell on the grip of his revolver, his eyes marking two targets.

While the targets seemingly crawled through their actions, Dare moved. His revolver came up, pointing at the dog's mouth. His finger tightened, the hammer pulling back and then whipping forward.

He blinked.

The shot ripped through the dog's mouth, the bullet barely out before the barrel snapped to the Raider faster than he could follow. One bullet landed in the target's shoulder, throwing his aim away as the shot was discharged into the air. Two more landed in his chest, sending the Raider stumbling back. He collapsed, whimpering in pain.

Dare blinked, taking a deep breath, finding himself panting harshly and a head-ache throbbing in his skull. The hand holding his revolver was twitching slightly. _I've never used my Sniper's Mind so suddenly before,_ he thought slowly, licking his lips. _And never at such a close range._

Carefully, he pushed himself up, wincing at the pain in his side. He stood, casually putting another bullet in the whining dog's skull, and walked to the Raider. The other man was still alive, barely, and stopped being so when Dare unloaded the last round into his head.

Grimacing, he pulled at the leather on his side, seeing that the spray of pellets had mostly been deflected; with the exception of three that had pierced through. Plus, the force of the shot had cracked one of his ribs.

Huffing, Dare retrieved a pair of tweezers from his pouch, picking the pellets out with the metal tips and dropping them on the floor. He then used part of stimpack, injecting parts of it into the wounds, followed by a direct injection to take care of the bruising and the break.

He sighed as the regenerative medicine went to work, and he proceeded to strip the useful items from the corpses, his mind on the situation that just occurred previously.

That was the true power of the Sniper's Mind, something that ran in his family for generations, and what made them such effective snipers. It typically occurred in an emergency, slowing time to nearly a stop, allowing them to plan out and execute shots in the span of seconds, though it always took a lot out of them.

Dare's grandfather had been a nearly mythical figure in the NCR because he could use the Sniper's Mind at will and at any range, frequently landing seemingly impossible shots in a row. His dad had been nearly revered his ability as well, though it was limited to a sniper. Dare had limited use of it like his father, and perhaps the key to using it when he wanted lay in understanding how he had done so just then.

But now was not the time to ponder on it.

The place the Raider Leader had come from was actually a corridor that was collapsed on both sides, leaving it as a long room. Next to a mattress was a table with a terminal on, with a box of 10mm bullets and a book with an explosion on the front, reading 'Duck and Cover!'

He stored those away and accessed the terminal, which was thankfully unlocked. On it, he found that the Raiders had been in the school for awhile, and one of their previous leaders had tried to attack Megaton.

He failed, and his successor hadn't had much better luck. The newest leader, now lying on the floor with bullets in his body, had decided to focus on tunneling underground, trying to break into a nearby Vault, Vault 101. That wasn't successful either, as they stumbled on a giant ant nest, which was locked behind the door in the basement, the key to which Dare now had in his pocket.

 _If I can kill one of the ants without alerting the others, I can extract the pheromones from the glands and spray them on myself, which should take care of any situations that may require me to deal with ants in the future._ He thought, mentally thanking his mom for making him learn that.

Flicking the terminal off, and making a note to retrieve it later, he strode back into the library and found a pair of Pre-War books that weren't destroyed, just a little dusty, and grabbed them. Stepping onto the balcony overlooking the foyer (also containing the stairway) Dare paused, staring at the top of the cage. For some reason, a glowing bottle of Nuka-Cola was lying there.

Shrugging, he hopped the railing and retrieved the bottle, storing it in his pack. He climbed down the cage and went through the school again, this time picking up anything that could be useful and valuable, sticking those items in a sack fashioned from clothing he found.

In one of the classrooms, Dare found a relatively whole book of sheet music. He couldn't read the notes, but it could be valuable to the right people.

After he cleaned out the school, he set the sack near the locked door and fished out the key to unlock it. Inside, he found a tunnel that lead underground. He descended into it with his revolver out. He would have to shoot one of the ants, and it wouldn't matter if the gun was silenced or not, they would still feel the vibration in the air.

The first thing he spotted after walking down the small decline was a pair of mauled bodies. Not Raiders, if the simple clothes were anything to go by; most likely some of the Wastelanders they had enslaved as diggers.

Next to the bodies was an assault rifle and several bullet casings, along with a dead ant and a few stimpacks. He kneeled next to the corpses and made an 'A', touching his fingers to his forehead and both sides of his chest, above the lungs, before drawing a line across his throat with his thumb.

Respects paid, Dare looted what he could, storing the assault rifle in his pack with the shotgun. The scatter-gun would be used for home-defense while the other would be sold. Neither of them were what he was good with.

Under the body of a female, he found a bright red book with Chinese characters on the front. Shrugging, he stored that too.

But what was next to the bodies made him excited. Several large ant grubs. The pheromones extracted from them would be far more potent, and the ants would actually move to defend him if he was attacked. If they were around, which was a very slim chance, admittedly, but still potentially helpful.

After extracting and spraying himself with the pheromones, Dare was disappointed to find that, beyond the book and the rifle, there wasn't shit in the caves. Mostly discarded cans and bottles, and a pair of stimpacks, and that was it. The cave was basically a damn waste of time.

Dare left the school, grabbing his bag on the way out and retrieving his sniper rifle. Besides getting shot and the empty ant cave, Springvale Elementary had actually been rather profitable. Besides the loot, he might be able to figure out how to use his Sniper's Mind at will. Time and effort would tell.

Slipping in just as the gate closed, he headed for his home. Upon entering, he found lively-looking Silver at the table digging into a Brahmin steak. "Dare!" She called happily, seeing him come in. "You're back!"

He gave her a smile and set his packs aside, stretching to relieve the kinks in his back. "Yup. I would've been back earlier, but I decided to clear out the school ruins. I found some pretty good stuff."

She gestured for him to take a seat, sliding a still-warm steak to his side of the table. "Tell me as you eat."

He told her of his day, relaying the events that had occurred for him.

Dare finished after his last bite of food. "And that's it." He ended, setting his fork aside.

"Are you okay? You did get shot." She asked with concern.

He waved it off with a small smile. "I used most of stimpack on it, and it's just a little tender. Thanks for the concern, though."

Dare yawned and stretched, cracking his neck. "Well, I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Night, Silver."

Silver gave him a small smile and nodded. "Good night, Dare. Sweet dreams."

He flopped down on his bed after stripping his armor away, feeling sleep roll over him quickly.

…

The next morning, Dare awoke to find that he was warm. Warmer than usual, anyway. Rolling over, he found that Silver had snuck into his bed after he fell asleep, snuggling against his back.

He poked her lightly, rousing her from sleep. "Wha'?" She mumbled, rubbing her nose against his shoulder.

Dare blinked, poking her again. "Morning, sunshine."

Silver's eyes snapped open, fixed on him, a flush of red entering her cheeks. "You…you don't mind that I did this, right?" She asked nervously.

He shook his head, giving her a light squeeze. "No, not really. Just ask next time. I'm going to get up, though."

Relieved, Silver yawned. "Now? But isn't it…early?"

He shrugged and rolled off the mattress, stretching his arms. "I'm an early riser. You can go back to sleep if you want."

"Alright." Silver shuffled to the center of the bed, taking the pillow and residual warmth for herself.

Dare thought for a second, before leaning over and whispering in her ear. "Hey, Silver."

"Yeah?"

He pressed a light kiss to her cheek. "Sweet dreams."

Smiling to himself, he washed and ate his breakfast before leaving, grabbing the pack of loot and heading out, wearing a simple shirt instead of his hole-y armor.

"Morning!" Moira greeted him cheerfully, typing at something on her terminal.

"Morning. I cleared out the Elementary school last night, and I've got a good amount of stuff to sell." He replied, laying his bag on the counter. "I also took a shotgun round to the side. Most of the shot was deflected, but a few pierced through and I need to repair the holes."

"You want me to fix it for you?" She asked, sorting through the loot he presented.

He shook his head, tapping his pouch. "I know how. Do you mind if I use your workbench?"

"Not at all! Did you find anything interesting in the school?" Moira giggled lightly, "Besides the Raiders, I mean."

Dare snapped his fingers in remembrance. "I did find a working terminal, actually. I was going to retrieve it today."

She waved a hand at him and directed her next question to the merc leaning on a wall. "Would you mind getting that terminal for me?"

The man arched an eyebrow at her. "Who's going to stand guard?" He asked simply.

Moira glanced at Dare. "Do you mind standing around here for an hour or two, looking threatening?"

He shook his head with a small grin. "Nope."

The merc shrugged. "Works for me. A hundred caps."

"Done." She replied.

The merc shrugged again and meandered from the building, leaving the two alone. "I'll pay for that." Dare commented once the door had closed.

Moira tapped his salvage with a smile. "I'll just deduct it from your sale. I'm assuming you want to use that terminal for Silver's training, right?"

"Yup. By the way, how do you want me to pay you? You mentioned it a couple of days ago." He asked, moving to the workbench to repair his armor, using a piece pulled of the Raider Leader's clothes.

"Well, right now it's just an idea I have. I'll let you know more once I've fully decided on it, okay?"

Dare nodded in reply and set about his task with a needle and metal thread.

Over the next couple of hours, the two chatted about anything that came to mind. Moira discovered that Dare could use the parts of a bomb collar, a tin can, a handful of gravel, some turpentine and a length of string to make a home-made trip mine. She offered to buy the blue-prints off of him if he drew them up.

Dare found that despite her cheerful and eccentric demeanor, Moira was wicked smart and rather shrewd, with a mind for improvised weaponry. Her constant smile was refreshing in a rather drab and dour world, and he found himself smiling in her presence.

They went quiet whenever someone entered. Dare would lean against the wall next to the workbench and stare at the person's back, meaningfully tapping his revolver. And when they left, their conversation would pick up again.

The merc returned after two and a half hours, carrying the terminal. After that, Dare left Moira to the task of reprogramming the old tech and went about his day.

…

Dare never left Megaton that day. He spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon repairing his home, adding sheets of metal to the walls to make it more secure and less hole-y. Wadsworth was a big help, as he could use his flamethrower as a welding torch.

Most of the house was looking cleaner and newer by the time Moira stopped by that night with the terminal. The two ladies talked for awhile before getting down to it. Dare could follow along for the most part, though it gave him a headache.

By the time they stopped for dinner, Silver was looking far more alive than she had nearly a week previously, a smile on her face as she tapped at the computer.

Moira left afterwards, and Dare decided to get a drink at the Saloon. Silver kept practicing her skills, a wide grin decorating her lips at the thought of 'skills'.

Entering the bar, he ordered a few fingers of scotch from Gob and took a seat at the counter, sipping his drink.

"Haven't seen you in a coupla days, smooth-skin. You been lookin' for Paradise Falls?" The ghoulish bartender asked.

Dare sighed. "I found it, actually, but I've just been watching it from a distance." He took a gulp of the liquor, sighing at the burning traveling down his stomach. "I was surprised that no one wanted to take care of it, being only five or so miles north of here, but when I saw it, I understood. That place is heavily guarded."

Gob shrugged blithely. "I'd help ya if I knew how, but I'd just get shot."

He waved off the man's apology. "No worries. I'm creating a plan to deal with it."

"I'm sorry to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but overhear you say you've been north?" A feminine voice asked as a body took up a seat at the bar.

The question came from a woman with dark blonde hair and fair skin. Dare recognized her from around town, though he didn't know her name. "Yeah, I've been going north the past couple of days. I don't believe we've met, Ms.?"

The woman gave him a charming smile and shook his hand. "Lucy West. You're Dare, right?"

He nodded shortly. "Yes. Did you want to ask me something?"

Lucy snapped her fingers. "Right, sorry. When you go up north, do you pass by a settlement called Arefu?"

"I do. I pass under that settlement to cross the river." Dare replied simply. He didn't mention that an old man with an assault rifle had thrown a grenade near him as a warning, before telling him about them being attacked by some people calling themselves 'The Family'. He relayed this to Lucy, who gained a rather worried look.

"Okay, now I'm really worried." She muttered, taking a long drink from her glass. "I send letters back home every month, but I haven't been getting anything back. Can you please check in on my parents and my brother the next time you go near?"

Dare sighed a little. He had the beginnings of a plan to infiltrate Paradise Falls, but nothing concrete. A little break might do him some good. "Sure. I'll check in on them for you. It might not be good news, though."

The blonde sighed and nodded. "I know. But I want to know. Just…tell me when you get back, okay?"

"Alright, I will."

"Thanks." Lucy replied before finishing off her drink and leaving with a slump in her shoulders.

Gob set the glass he was polishing down and gave Dare a meaningful look. "You know it's probably bad news, right?"

Dare gulped down his scotch quickly. "It's the Wasteland. It's almost always bad news." He tossed a few caps to the Ghoul and left with a wave.

When he returned home, he found Silver shutting off her terminal and stretching tiredly. "I'm going to bed. Also, I'm going out tomorrow." He said simply.

"Oh, okay." She replied, blinking slowly. "I'll be here, practicing my skills." A wide smile curved her lips as she stretched her fingers. "I can't believe I have skills now."

Dare stopped half-way up the stairs and smiled at her. "I'm glad you're happy, Silver." He said kindly.

Silver looked up at him with a soft expression. "Me too." A dark blush burst over her face. "Um…do you mind if I… sleep with you again?" She asked, looking and rubbing her arm nervously.

"Of course I don't mind." He replied, beckoning her to come with him.

Silver swiftly followed him into his room as he peeled his shirt off and laid down, scotching over to make room for an extra body. She dawdled at the edge of the mattress, fingering the hem of her shirt nervously.

Dare turned to look at her, quirking an eyebrow in confusion. "Is something wrong?"

"I…I just…do you want to have sex with me?" She blurted, quickly covering her mouth.

He frowned lightly. "I'm not asking, Silver, but I wouldn't say no if you wanted to. You're a beautiful woman."

Silver flushed deeply. The way he said that made it seem like it was a simple fact of life. The sun rose, Brahmin mooed, and she was beautiful. "You're just saying that," She muttered, running a hand through her hair.

Dare quirked an eyebrow at her, scowling slightly. "No I'm not. Why would I just say it if I didn't mean it?" He asked with irritation in his tone.

She played with her fingers, not meeting his eyes. "I don't believe you." She whispered quietly.

He scowled deeper, eyes flashing. He scanned her body language and his gaze softened. Sliding off of the bed, he stood in front of her, laying his hands on her shoulders. "Do you want me to prove it to you?" He asked quietly, when she didn't pull away.

Silver nodded slowly. Taking a deep breath, Dare cupped her cheeks and made her look up, into his eyes. Then he leaned in and kissed her.

She'd been kissed before. It was a hazard of her job. But this one…was different. The men she'd been with had simply stuck their tongues in her mouth and took what they wanted, closing their eyes and grabbing her ass or her boobs.

But Dare…he didn't do any of that. He pressed his lips gently to hers, his calloused hands warm and rough on her cheeks, staring deeply into her eyes, nothing but honesty shining in his own.

Everyone lied. It's just a fact of life. But he had been nothing but honest with her, and by the way he interacted with Moira, he always was. She'd been watching him carefully, snooping through his house to find his dirty secrets just so she could be prepared, and had found absolutely nothing. It was what had drawn her to him in the first place, when she had been waiting to die in her shack.

Silver pulled away from the kiss, her breath coming hard. "You aren't lying, are you?" She muttered.

"Nope." He replied simply, stroking her cheek.

She searched his eyes for a second before wrapping her arms around his neck and smashing her lips to his. He returned her embrace as she pushed him onto the bed, her hands caressing and squeezing his muscles as her tongue entered his mouth.

Silver broke away to sit up, pulling off her shirt and discarding on the floor along with her bra. As her hands went to her pants, Dare stopped her, gently grabbing her wrists. "Are you sure?" He asked quietly.

She pulled his hands up to her mouth and kissed the palms. "I've never been surer of anything in my life." She replied, directing his right hand to the center of her chest. "Can you feel it?"

He closed his eyes, feeling the pounding of her pulse under her soft skin. "Yeah. I can."

"Then let me show you." His eyes opened as Silver directed his hands to her breasts and began to work on her pants again.

Dare gently squeeze and rubbed her generous chest, drawing pleased gasps from her as she wiggled around. She was straddling his lap, and that didn't not make pulling her pants of easy. Giving a frustrated groan after a minute, Silver stood up and roughly yanked her garments off, kicking them in a corner and doing the same to his, leaving both of them bare before the other.

Silver didn't bother looking at what he had. It didn't even matter what his size was at this juncture, they were way past that point.

Dare had sat up, bringing his mouth to her breasts, kissing and licking her nipples and skin around them, but she didn't want foreplay. "Not tonight." She muttered, pushing him back down. "Later."

She straddled his lap again, grabbing his length and lining it up with her lips, before sinking down. She moaned in pleasure at the heat and fullness inside of her, stopping completely when he was buried entirely in her. "Oh god…"

Dare firmly gripped her hips, gasping quietly as her wet velvet walls squeezed him. He panicked slightly when he felt water dripping on his stomach, opening his eyes to see Silver with tears flowing down her cheeks. "Did I hurt you?" He asked gently, stroking her back.

She shook her head, silver-blonde hair whipping about. "No…I've never…felt this way."

Silver leaned over, pushing their bodies together and kissed him softly. She began to rock her hips, gasping into his mouth at every jolt of pleasure that slid up her spine. Her fingers twisted the sheets as she pressed her lips to his mouth, his cheeks and his neck.

She leaned back and began to pant as ecstasy clouded her mind, and she couldn't help but compare Dare to the other men…and there was just no comparison. Nothing compared to what she was experiencing now. There was warmth and pleasure and it was like her memories of previous excursions were being washed away by gentle wave of nothing she'd ever felt before.

"Silver…" Dare whispered, a slight warning in his tone.

Silver firmly planted him deep inside of her and locked her knees, crying out as liquid heat flooded her insides and wiped coherent thought away.

After what seemed to be hours, she came back to herself, finding that she was leaning back on his propped-up knees, panting harshly and feeling deliciously warm and full.

She looked down on Dare, who had his eyes closed, breathing heavily while he stroked her sides. Silver hadn't really noticed before, but he was really big. Not just sexually, either.

Dare opened his eyes when she giggled, cocking an eyebrow at her. "What?" _Was I bad? It didn't sound like that a minute ago._ He felt her sides, beads of sweat wetting his fingers. _Doesn't feel like it, either._

"You're really big." She murmured, wiggling in his lap.

He uncharacteristically blushed, lightly. "I, uh…I am?"

Silver giggled again, wiggling some more. "I don't mean like that…well, not entirely. I mean, you're really tall. I've never noticed it before."

Dare scrunched his face in thought. "I'm not _that_ tall."

She ran her nails down his chest lightly. "You're taller than Simms, and he's the tallest guy I've ever met." She said simply, just pointing out a fact.

He shrugged easily. His height wasn't something he really cared about, or noticed all that much. Silver wiggled in his lap again, and he shuddered lightly. "If you keep doing that, I'm going to get aroused again."

Silver wiggled some more, gasping as stiffness became apparent within her. "That's the thought…unless you don't want to go anymore?"

Dare shook his head, sitting up and planting a kiss on her lips. "Not what I meant." He rolled his hips, getting a moan of pleasure from her. "Just telling you. Although…"

His hands gripped her hips, stopping her slow bouncing. "Will my orgasming inside of you be a problem later?"

Silver gave him a slightly sad, sardonic smile. "Kids aren't going to be something I'll ever have, Dare."

"Ah." _What can I honestly say to that?_ "Well, okay, then. Do you want to continue?" He asked, stroking her back and kissing her neck.

Silver slowly pushed herself up, before dropping back down. She continued the pattern and spoke in between pants and moans. "Does…that…answer…your question?"

He didn't bother to reply, he simply brought his lips down to her breasts and took one of her nipples in his mouth, to her groan of approval.

…

Dare sighed as he woke, his hand laid on the dip of Silver's back while the woman slept quietly on top of him. He slowly rolled over and distangled their legs, and unstuck their skin, all very carefully.

He pressed a kiss to her cheek and gathered up his clothes before heading downstairs. He heated up a pot of water and washed his sticky and somewhat smelly self off. Once clean, he poured the water out and got some more, leaving it to warm on the stove for Silver.

Dare dressed and packed his daily supplies, leaving behind his camouflage for both himself and his rifle. That would free up some space in his pack and some weight from his back, which was always a useful thing.

Once fully kitted out, he snuck back into his room and kissed Silver's cheek again and stroked her hair. She mumbled in her sleep, and he whispered, "I'll be back tonight, alright?"

She didn't respond, not that he expected her to, and kissed her once more before leaving the house.

Pulling his hat low to block the light from the rising sun, Dare strode north through the wasteland, heading towards Arefu, watching for any signs of danger while chewing on a piece of gum.

Thankfully, the journey was uninterrupted by enemies or hostile animals, and he arrived at the settlement within two hours. Then a grenade clattered to the ground next to his feet.

Dare drew his foot back and kicked the explosive off the side of the bridge, where it exploded harmlessly in the air. "I would advise you not to waste your grenades to warn people." He calmly called to the old man behind the sandbags.

"Oh, it's you again. What're you doing, approaching Arefu?" He asked suspiciously.

"A woman in Megaton, named Lucy West, asked me to stop by and check in on her family here. She's worried since they haven't responded to any of her letters." Dare replied, stopping in front of the sandbags.

"Oh, Little Lucy? I couldn't tell how the Wests have been doing, everybody's been staying inside since the Family started harassing us." He titled the cap on his head back and scratched at his receded hairline. "If it's not too much, can you go around and check on everyone? That's the Ewer, Schenzy and West places. Don't go into my house though."

The man didn't point out which houses held which families, so Dare rolled his eyes and said, "Sure."

Going through the small settlement, Dare checked on the houses, finding that one contained a wife and husband (the wife seemed to have lost her marbles and the husband was jerkass), and the other only held a single woman who greeted him cautiously through the door. Once he had explained that Evan King, the old man who was also the mayor, apparently, she let him in with no fuss.

She was perfectly safe and sort of pissed that Evan King, Mayor, had dictated that everyone should stay inside in fear of the Family.

Personally, he agreed with what she said and told her as much before checking on the West residence.

Knocking, he gained no answer. He tried again, to no avail. Pressing his ear to the door, Dare frowned when no sound came through. That was worrying. What was worse was that the door was unlocked.

Slowly turning the knob, Dare opened his mouth to call out, only to gag on the smell of rancid, decaying flesh.

Lying on the floor was the desiccated corpses of two adults. On the wall, written in what looked like dried human blood, was a pair of simple words.

'The Family'.

"Huh." Dare muttered. "That's not good."

…

…

…

 **A/N: Well, there you go. Another chapter. I can't really say where this going, as I only have the barest idea. I have whole arc planned out that should be around five or six chapters. And that's about it, really.**

 **On the lemon: Don't complain, please. This is Fallout. In world like that, there's a whole lot of fucking going on. There are Raiders, there are Slavers, and there's a whole lot fucking, and good chunk of that is probably not consensual. Just saying. Someone could write a really long lemon story about all the fuckin' going on in Fallout. I probably wouldn't read it, though.**

 **So yeah, nothing to say, really. I'm glad people are enjoying it, though. And thanks to the people who have reviewed.**

 **Read, Enjoy and Review. And if you like it, maybe you tell me? And then you tell your friends? And then maybe they tell me? And I think you know where I'm going with this.**

 **Stay Awesome.**

 **~Soleneus**

 **P.S.: I am working on Still Not Hero, just to assure the ones who came here from there. I've just had a few busy weeks. Can't say when it'll be posted, but soon, in any case.**

 **Stay Awesome Some More.**

 **~still Soleneus**


	4. The Blood of The Family

Dare sighed unhappily and knelt near the two corpses, drawing an 'A' in front of him by touching his hand to his forehead, followed by touching his chest, just above the lungs, and bringing his thumb across his throat.

Prayer done, he carefully examined the two corpses, finding something strange on their necks. Both had deep bites that went to the bone, but there was no significant blood-loss, somehow. And it had been done by a human teeth.

Frowning lightly, he rubbed his fingers together, finding a black powdery residue had gathered there. It looked like something he would find at a train, and he would know. That's where he got the ingredients for his face-paint.

And besides a few splatters on the floor and the graffiti on the wall, there wasn't much in the way of blood around the house, and given the wounds inflicted on the bodies, that shouldn't have been the case.

Withdrawing from the putrid house, Dare made his way back to Evan King. "The West's are dead." He said bluntly.

The older man reeled back in shock, blinking heavily. "Oh my lord," He muttered to himself. "Those poor folks…those bastards! The Family killed them, didn't they?"

The sniper nodded. "From what I could tell, that seems to be the case. The graffiti on the wall said 'The Family', so I could be wrong."

King ignored his sarcasm, angrily scratching at an itch on his balding head. "Wait," he paused, "Did you find the body of a boy?"

Dare shook his head. "No, only the bodies of an older male and an older female."

King sat heavily in his chair. "That's right, I remember seeing Ian with Vance, the leader of the Family. I thought I was just drunk." He mutters. "Anyway, I need you to go lookin' for the Family. If they have Ian, he needs to be rescued! And I have to guard Arefu, so that just leaves you."

The younger man sighed lightly, frowning when he rubbed his fingers together. "Are there any train yards nearby?" He asked suddenly, remembering the residue he found on the bodies.

King frowned for a second, before his expression lightened and he snapped his fingers. "There's a train yard some miles east of here, I think it's Meresti Metro or somethin' like that."

Dare resisted the urge to roll his eyes. _That was super helpful._ He balked as he remembered just who had sent him to Arefu and why. _Shit. I've got to tell Lucy her parents are dead._

Waving goodbye to the aging man, the sniper set off back towards Megaton, keeping the directions towards the Metro Station in mind while he quickly walked.

The sniper above the gate- _I really need to learn his name-_ gave Dare a strange look as he strode back through the gates and made his way straight to Moriarty's Saloon. Stepping in, he found the bar to be empty except for Gob and Nova, though he suspected that was because they didn't have anything to really do around Megaton.

"Dare? What are you doing back here so early for, pal?" Gob asked, setting down the glass he always seemed to be cleaning.

He sighed and shrugged. "I need to see Lucy West. Do you know where she lives?" He questioned simply, keeping his face expressionless.

Gob frowned lightly. "Uh, yeah, I do. Why do you want to see her, though?"

Nova, shaking her short red hair, gave a scoff of disbelief. "Oh, come on!" She groaned, "Every time you come in here, I give you my best looks and you just ignore me! And now, you talk to West once, and now you're asking for her house? Do I have to strip myself and dance, or something?"

Dare blinked once, his jaw working without a word coming out. "What?" He finally managed. "Best looks?"

"Yeah!" Nova tilted her head down, her short, messy bangs to brush above her dark blue eyes, which were locked onto his, her lips quirking up a little at the edges. She trailed her eyes down from his to his crotch and licked her lips. "See? That's my 'come-fuck-me' look, and you ignore me every time!"

 _More like 'I-will-rape-you' look,_ Dare thought to himself. Out loud, he said, "Nova, I have never once paid for sex, and I'm not going to start now."

The red-haired prostitute gave him a dry, slightly offended look. "I said it's my 'come-fuck-me' look, not my 'come-pay-me-so-I-can-fall-asleep-halfway-through' look. I'm more than just a whore, you know."

"Until you pay me back, not really." Moriarty interjected, coming out of his back room looking greasy as usual. "So, why'd you want to see Lucy for, eh?" He asked, a greedy gleam in his eye.

"She asked me to check on her family in Arefu." Dare replied shortly, "I just got back and I need to tell her what I found."

"Boring." The older man muttered, lighting a cigarette. "Her house is about a minute's walk away from yours. It's the big two-story one, you can't miss it."

The sniper nodded shortly and left, Nova's parting comment of, "Come find me later!" echoing behind him, making his way to the third-largest house in Megaton. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

"One second!" Lucy called, muffled by the door. About a minute later, she finally pulled it open, her blonde hair loose, blinking in the sunlight. "Dare? What are you doing?"

He scratched his cheek, wondering how to start the conversation. "Can I come inside?" He asked carefully.

Blinking, she nodded slowly. "Yeah, sure." Once Dare had stepped inside and the door was closed, she wrapped her robe around her tightly and brushed her hair out of her face. "So, what's this about?"

"Uh, well, I went Arefu this morning," He started slowly, "And…"

"What?" She asked worriedly, "Did something happen?"

Dare licked his lips, "Yeah. Your-ah….your parents…aren't alive anymore." He bit out slowly.

Lucy's mouth dropped, tears gathering in her hazel eyes. "What?" She gasped in shock.

"Yeah…" He muttered with sorrow in his voice. "It seems like they've been dead for awhile…I'm really sorry, Lucy."

The blonde woman let out a choked sob, crying softly into her hands. Dare stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, only for Lucy to turn and bury her face in his chest, shaking. Taken by surprise, he responded by gently putting his arms around her and patting her back.

He knew what it was like to lose his parents. It was a truth of the Wasteland: what you love will inevitably die, maybe in a horrible fashion. It was best to get used to eventually hearing the news of your loved ones dying. It was bound to happen at some point.

After a few minutes, Lucy drew away, wiping her face on her sleeve. "Sorry, I got tears on your clothes," She mumbled, rubbing her red eyes. "You didn't say anything about my brother, though? Is he still alive?"

Dare shrugged tentatively. "I don't know for certain, but I think so. He wasn't there, and I didn't find enough blood for three people." _Or two people, actually._ "Whoever killed your parents might've kidnapped him as well. They call themselves 'The Family', and according to Evan King, they've been attacking Arefu for awhile."

Narrowing her eyes angrily, Lucy growled out, "Do you know where they hide?"

"I believe so," He replied quietly, "A train station some miles east of here. I'm going investigate there."

"I want to come with you." She stated determinedly. Not waiting for his reply, she quickly moved up the stairs and entered her room. He could barely hear the shuffling of clothes as she hurriedly got dressed. A minute later, she emerged once more fully dressed, wearing a black leather coat that had no sleeves, the edges of a tank-top peeking out from her collar, with reinforced pants and combat boots.

Lucy had a ten-millimeter SMG secured to her belt, and a battered assault rifle slung over her shoulder. "I'm ready." She announced, coming down to meet him.

He nodded and made to leave. She locked her house up behind them and followed him as he walked to his house. "Hang on a second. I need to grab something." Dare told her before entering his house.

Silver looked up from her plate as he came through the door, a pleasantly surprised expression on her face. "Dare! You're back already?" She asked happily, slipping out of her seat and stepping gingerly around the table.

Sighing, the sniper shook his head. "Just about to go back out, actually. I just need to grab something." He pulled his sniper rifle from his back and set it on a table, replacing it on his back with his hunting rifle. "I didn't get to say this last night, but I got this shotgun for you."

Frowning at the fact that he had to leave again, Silver arched an eyebrow in question. "For what?" She asked, leaning on his arm.

"Just in case. If someone tries to break in, or someone who's not Moira tries to come in…" He tapped the shotgun meaningfully. "It's got a full clip, and I think I've got some shells lying around if you need them. Hopefully you won't, but, you know."

Silver nodded and grasped his arm, pulling him around to face her. "Thanks. Come back safe, okay?" She went up on the tip of her toes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

Dare gave her a small smile and leaned down to kiss her back. "I'll be fine, don't worry. I should be back before nighttime." He replied, squeezing her gently.

Having said his goodbye, Dare exited his house and strode towards the exit, where Lucy was waiting for him a small, worried scowl on her face. "Let's go," He ordered, popping a piece of gum into his mouth.

The two of them walked quickly across the Wasteland, though it was obvious to the sniper that the blonde woman was restraining herself from taking off and running. Only the fact that Dare was leading and running was a good way to draw bad attention to yourself in the Wastes stopped her.

As they crested a short hill, a ruined train yard came into view. Stopping, Dare drew a monocular that he had fashioned from a broken pair of binoculars and put it to his eye, scanning the seemingly-empty yard. "Ah," he grunted, spotting a lone Raider near the tunnel entrances, who was waving a baseball bat around and muttering crazily.

"See someone?" Lucy asked tensely, fingering her SMG.

Dare nodded, storing his scope away and pulling his hunting rifle off of his back. "Yup. One Raider." He sighted on the human's head and flicked off the safety. One pull of the trigger, and the Raiders' head jerked back, the body collapsing to the ground. "We're clear."

Setting his rifle on his back and drawing his pistol, Dare led the way to the tunnels, checking around the old train cars for potential enemies or traps. Finding none, he cracked open the door to the service tunnel and crept inside.

Walking through the crumbling tunnels, the two of them stayed silent, knowing that their words would echo. Dare suddenly stopped, pointing at the ground. "Trip Wire." He whispered, pulling out his knife and kneeling near the trap. With a quick, careful slice, he disarmed the wire. "We must be on the right track."

"Either that, or some sadistic asshole just wanted to kill someone." Lucy muttered quietly. "You think there are more?"

Keeping his eyes pointed near the ground, the sniper nodded once. "There's never just one trap."

Slowly, the pair snuck through the tunnels, disarming the many traps they came across, which included a pair of bear traps. They also became aware that, in addition to the tripwires that led to rigged shotguns and the bear traps, whoever lived in the tunnel also left frag mines.

Lucy stepped ahead of Dare and slipped on a rock, sending her stumbling forward. She stopped herself before falling over, but something beeped near her foot. Recognizing the tone, the sniper rushed forward and tackled the woman away, just as the frag mine she stepped near went off.

The noise of the explosion rang in their ears as pieces of rubble rained down on them. Dare rolled off of Lucy and checked himself for injuries; finding none, he turned to the blond and held out a hand. "Are you alright?"

Lucy patted herself down, finding that she was sore but uninjured. "Yeah, I am. Thanks to you." She took his hand and was pulled onto her feet. "You saved my life. "She muttered in disbelief.

Dare shrugged, wiggling a finger in his ear. "Seems like it. Let's keep going."

Shaking her head at his simple reply, Lucy followed him as he took the lead going into the depths of the tunnels.

They encountered several more traps, including a baby carriage that was rigged with multiple mines. A mechanical baby doll head was placed inside and wired to battery, so that it would cry to draw attention to it.

It didn't really work on the pair. As soon as they heard a baby's cry, Dare narrowed his eyes and took cover behind a pile of rubble before shooting the carriage once. It exploded, and he traded wary looks with Lucy. "Whoever set that up either has a twisted sense of humor or is seriously messed up." He muttered as the smoke faded. Lucy nodded in agreement.

They eventually came to end of the tunnel, which was caved in, barring their passage. However, at their feet was a manhole cover, which looked to have been moved recently.

They worked together to lift the metal cover away before descending the ladder into a well-lit passageway. It looked like the other tunnel, except clean and well lit. It only took them two steps before they reached another human being.

A bearded man in combat armor stood behind a wall of sandbags with a shotgun pointed at them. "You'd better start talking real fast, or I'll end the both of you." He growled. "What the hell are you doing the territory of The Family?"

Lucy scowled at the name, clenching her fist, though Dare spoke up. "We're looking for Ian West. Do you have him?" He asked simply.

"Ian West?" The man replied confusedly. "How do you know that name?"

The sniper pointed at an angry Lucy. "She's his sister, and we're trying to see if he's okay." He explained.

The man's eyebrows went up. "Really? Huh, Ian mentioned a sister." He paused in thought, examining them. Finally, he said, "Alright, you can come in. You'll want to talk to Vance, he's the leader of The Family. Just remember that I've got my eyes on you. We all do."

Stepping around the wall, the pair entered the metro station, finding it to be just as clean and well-lit as the tunnel. Several benches were lined up like pews in a church, with the lobby overhead bearing a string of lights. In between the benches were a few tables pushed together with numerous chairs.

The men and women standing around gave the visitors wary looks, watching them as they carefully ascended the steps to find a man standing in the lobby. He had short, dark red hair and a pale, ruddy face, wearing a battered duster and looking at them with curious eyes.

"And who are you two?" He asked in a calm voice.

"My name is Dare, and this is Lucy West." Dare introduced, nodding politely.

The man nodded back, his eyes on Lucy. "I see. My name is Vance, and I'm the leader of this little family. You must be Ian's sister, correct?"

Lucy stepped forward aggressively. "Yeah, I am. Where are you keeping my brother imprisoned?" She asked shortly, looking murderous.

Vance frowned in what looked like dismay. "Imprisoned?" He voiced with confusion. "Ian isn't being held against his will, here."

"That's not what his home looked like." Dare replied dryly.

"Where's my brother?" Lucy questioned again, narrowing her eyes.

Vance held his hands up in surrender. "He's staying in the meditation chambers. Holly, dear," He turned to a woman with messy dark-blonde hair. "Can you take this young woman to see Ian, please? She's his sister, and she's worried about him."

The blonde West gave Holly a suspicious look, before shooting a concerned look at Dare. "I'll be fine." He said shortly, waving her away.

Nodding, Lucy followed after the other woman, leaving Dare alone with Vance. "So, what exactly is 'The Family'?" The sniper asked warily. "Because from what I've heard, you seem like just another gang."

The leader of The Family shook his head. "We _are not_ a gang. As the name _should_ imply, we are a family. Brothers and sisters in bonds...most of us." Vance explained with an irritated face.

"And how is attacking an innocent town and killing two of it's residents make your 'family' not a gang?" Dare questioned sarcastically.

The leader groaned softly, palming his face. "That...one of our brethren had been going out at night without my permission. I waited until he snuck off a few days ago, and I followed him to Arefu, to find that he had been attacking the town's Brahmin. While we were there, I heard screams and terrible noises coming from a nearby home." Vance paused, looking sorrowful.

"What?" The sniper asked with a frown.

"First, let me explain something about us, The Family." The leader of the Family started slowly. "We have all felt a craving for something, something that, should we get it, would cause us to be viewed as monsters. I discovered a book, detailing creatures that I found myself fascinated with, and a safer way for people like me."

 _The marks on the corpses' necks, the lack of blood…_ "Are you saying...that you're a clan of Vampires?" Dare questioned incredulously.

Vance gave him a very surprised and slightly pleased look. "In a fashion. The vampires I read about were immortal, inhumanly beautiful and terrible creatures. We are very much human, but I have fashioned a life for The Family and I based on them." He explained carefully. "The cravings we used to have...they were for human flesh. I had partaken of it more than a few times, and I always felt like an animal afterward. Discovering vampires, and learning how to nourish myself from the blood, and not the flesh made me into a new man. I am not much of leader, but I do my best to teach those who follow me."

Dare hummed in thought, his sharp eyes narrowed on the 'vampire'. "If you do not partake of flesh...then why did you kill the Wests? From your story, it sounded like it wasn't you."

Vance lowered his head with a sigh. "It wasn't I, nor my brethren. It was Ian West who killed his parents. He suffered from the craving much like we do, but he couldn't control it. I don't know what happened that night, but it resulted in young Ian tearing his parents' throats out with his teeth. I and my brethren managed to restrain him and bring him here. He wished to be taught to control the craving, to become more than an animal." He explained sadly. "I have taken him in, to teach how to be one of us."

The sniper frowned slightly. "This blood you feed from...where do you get it?" The threat of being shot if the answer was unsatisfactory hung behind the question like a guillotine.

"We don't kill random Wastelanders for their blood," The Lead vampire scoffed, offended. "There are those who give their blood willingly, and we also draw sustenance from the blood of Brahmin, as well."

Satisfied by the the answer, Dare stiffened as a thought occurred to him. "If Arefu were to donate blood for your family, would you protect them from the roaming threat in the Wastes?" He asked bluntly.

Startled, Vance looked away and cupped his chin, thinking hard. "I believe that would be beneficial for both of us...yes." He looked up at Dare, who he just noticed stood over him by several inches, with a hopeful visage. "I know the journey from Arefu to here is long, but if I could impose on you to deliver a proposal there, I would much appreciate it."

The sniper nodded slowly. "I expect payment, so you know."

"I do know, and I have just the thing." With that, Vance departed, presumably to his quarters.

With nothing to do for the time being, Dare retrieved a rolled up pack of paper from one of his pouches, smoothing it out to look at the red cover, titled with Chinese characters. By the translation on the inside, it was a Special Operations Manual for Chinese Stealth Forces, deployed Pre-War. Apparently, someone had gotten ahold of an original copy and managed to translate it, before copying that and redistributing it.

More than half of the manual was unreadable; but what was made for a very interesting read. It outlined ways to reduce noise while being stealthy, and the right spots where it would be best to slip a knife, and in some odd cases, a _sword_ , into an enemy.

Dare knew most of it, but the way they described how to walk was very interesting. He would attempt it later.

Looking up from the booklet, he spied a red-eyed Lucy slowly walking toward him, her gaze wearily fixed on the ground. Rolling it up and stuffing it away, he remained silent as the blonde West leaned against the railing beside him, crossing her arms.

It was obvious that she didn't want to speak, so they remained in silence. Eventually, Vance returned with two pieces of paper, one that was the regular tan color, and the other being a light blue.

"I have my proposal, and your payment." He announced, handing both papers to Dare. The sniper tucked the proposal away and unrolled the blueprints, looking on the designs for a weapon that incorporated a fuel tank from a motorcycle, along with a handle bar and a fuel hose with a blade, to create a flaming sword. The top of the paper had the word 'Shishkebab' written at the top.

"It's the blueprints for a weapon I created," Vance explained at the Dare's odd look. "I am rather fond of it, and I believe you may have use for it."

"I see. Thank you." Dare would've preferred an actual weapon or caps to just blueprints, but he could see the value in it. It was an improvised weapon that could be very damaging in the right hands. Not his hands, though. Knives were as far as his experience with bladed weaponry went. Though he had wielded a Chinese sword against a Raider before.

"You have my thanks as well." Holly interjected, nodding gratefully to the two while shooting Lucy a sympathetic look.

"While we were coming in, we disarmed most of your traps." Dare notified the two vampires.

Vance nodded understandingly. "I see. When you next see Robert, please give him the explosives you recovered, so that he may rebuild our defenses."

"The guard?" Dare asked, to clarify.

"Yes."

With nothing else to say, the two Wastelanders left the coven of vampires, and after dropping off the explosives to the grumbling guard, made their way back to the surface.

The sun had long since passed its zenith, and was now on the way to descending. In less flowery terms, it was early evening. The silence between the two stayed, hanging heavy in the air as their boots crunched on dry rock and grass. Even when Arefu came into view, Lucy stayed quietly despondent, occasionally sniffing.

Dare handled Evan King, letting the blonde retrieve her parents corpses from their former home while he handed off the proposal. The man had thanked him and paid him a hundred caps for service.

After about an hour, Lucy emerged from her house, shaken and teary-faced, but a little more at peace than before. She had wrapped the bodies in the sheets from the bed and enlisted Dare to help her bury them under the onramp overpass that served as Arefu's ground.

It took awhile to dig the hole and cover it back up, and by the time they finished, the sun was stretching the last fingers of sunlight over the horizon, reaching across the world in a penultimate flare of light. Once the hole had been filled and marked with a pair of simple wooden crosses, Lucy spoke for the first time in several hours when she bid goodbye to Evan King as they set off back to Megaton.

It had been a long day for both of them, though more so for the blonde, understandably. They stopped on a small outcropping of rock to eat a meal of a couple cans of Pork'n'Beans.

"A mercenary was messing around with our Brahmin one day," Lucy suddenly spoke up, her hazel eyes fixed on him.. "My brother and I, we went out to stop him, but he was drunk, I think. He smacked Ian around and made him hit his head on a rock. After that, he just leapt up, snarling like an animal, and ripped the merc's throat out with his teeth. I managed to calm him down and comfort him, and we hid the body and any evidence."

Dare nodded slowly. "How do you feel about Ian joining The Family?" He asked carefully.

The blonde Wastelander shook her head. "I never should've left him alone," She murmured regretfully. "I thought it was just a one-time thing, but as you saw, it wasn't. If those weirdos can keep Ian safe and give him some peace, that's all I need to let him stay."

"I understand."

They finished off their meal and resumed their journey to their home as the sun fully sunk over the horizon, leaving the world a light grey that approaching black.

Dare waved up to the Sniper and escorted Lucy to her home. They stood at the door in silence while Lucy thought. Finally, she turned to the sniper and wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks for everything today, Dare." She muttered into his shoulder, squeezing him slightly. "It wasn't the best day, but thank you for what you've done."

"No problem." He replied quietly, patting her back.

She broke away from him and gave him watery smile, along with a small peck on the cheek. "I owe you a drink." Lucy stated firmly. "Come find me in a couple days, and I'll buy a drink at the Saloon."

Dare nodded simply. "I will. Have a good night."

The blonde Wastelander returned the sentiment and entered her house. Dare sighed to himself and made his way back home, unlocking the door with his key, coming inside to find Wadsworth bothering about on the stove cooking something. The oddest sound, though, came from a room behind the kitchen. It was the sound of splashing water.

"Ah, Master, you are home!" The Mr. Handy greeted him enthusiastically. "Dinner is getting, sir, and Miss Silver is waiting for you in the bath!"

"Bath?" Dare mostly asked himself, setting his weapons and pouches on the table.

"Indeed, sir. The young Miss and myself tackled that filthy thing with great vigour while you were gone. It took quite the effort and a veritable pint of elbow grease, but we managed to make it spotless!" The butler robot replied happily.

The sniper paused as the words sunk in, setting the top part of his armor down. Striding past the floating robot, he slowly opened the door to find the once-filthy bathtub was now clean and full of soapy, hot water...and Silver, her bright, silver-blonde hair and pale, smooth skin covered with suds.

"Dare!" She greeted him happily, looking like a little kid playing with a fascinating new toy. "This so awesome! It took a long time, but it's totally worth it!"

"Do you have room in there for me?" He asked with a sly smile.

Silver stood up in the tub, and Dare was reminded that she was all woman. Dripping in soapy bubbles, but very, very naked. Silver gave him a very sultry look, peeking out at him from under soaked blonde bangs with glittering eyes. "Oh, I have _plenty_ of room in here…" She whispered sexily, trailing her fingers down her sternum, between her breasts, over her stomach to cup her nether lips.

Dare stepped forward and pulled her into a smoldering kiss, separating to pull his shirt over his head. Silver helped divest him of his clothing, and the bathroom was filled with sounds moans and splashing water.

Wadsworth would be annoyed to find that he had to clean the bathtub again.

…

…

…

 **A/N: And that's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **I just finished my second week of Psych classes, and it's still really interesting. Science isn't my strong point, but it's interesting.**

 **So, why does Dare draw an 'A'? I'm not telling, nor am I about the pairing. That would just spoil what I have planned.**

 **Something I've noticed in fanfiction that I hate, and I mean 'hate' is when authors write a story, mostly crossovers, where they just keep the same damn pairing. To name a few: Issei and Asia, fucking hate that one because I hate Issei; Rito and Haruna, not a big problem, but almost everyone does it, and christ, it's so damn staid; Kirito and Asuna, their romance sucked, as far as I'm concerned. It was like the met again and then the next episode they're living together.**

 **That's just a few out of many, but I find it to both fucking annoying and very stupid. This is Fanfiction. We're not getting paid for this, and the only thing we get is favs, follows and reviews. It's the perfect place to experiment with different styles of writing and story-telling methods. So why not experiment with pairings?**

 **And I can say this, because I'm an author. You did just read the chapter, right?**

 **Anyway, it's stupid and I hate it, and I like the authors who do change things up.**

 **Why not try it?**

 **Stay Awesome.**

 **~Soleneus**


	5. Paradise Will Fall

Dare awoke to feeling of soft lips lightly pressing against his chest, gentle little touches and the smacking of lips as they repeated the gesture. The last night came back to his mind, and he smiled as he stroked the naked Silver's back. "You are insatiable," He murmured teasingly as her hand slid down his chest and gripped his rapidly stiffening length.

After their bath (which had ended up with them having to replace the water to actually get clean, and an annoyed Wadsworth), they had eaten a good dinner of Brahmin steak and milk, and then had gone upstairs to continue the night's events...which is to say, they had sex for hours before finally falling asleep.

Though he couldn't tell due to being inside, Dare got the feeling that it was later in the morning, much later than his usual up-with-the-sun schedule.

"Ah," Silver grumbled, removing her hand. "You're all sticky...and so am I. We need to clean up."

"What did expect?" The sniper said with a smile. "I wouldn't be surprised if we were stuck to the bed."

She looked up at him with a sultry smile. "Well, if you weren't such a fulfilling lover, that wouldn't be a problem, would it?"

He arched an eyebrow at her, dry look on his face. "Would you rather I be a bad lover?" He asked in amusement.

Her grey eyes flicked up in thought for a second before meeting his again. "On second thought, I can deal with a little stickiness." Silver replied quickly.

Dare gently pushed on her shoulder, rolling the naked woman off of him. "I'll go heat up some water," He said, planting a gentle kiss on her lips. "I'll be back in a minute."

She waved him off, throwing the blanket covering her body away. "Hurry back, Dare! I want to get dirty after we get clean!" She called after him.

"I'll make sure we have enough water!" He replied teasingly.

Dare was very much naked as he descended the steps into the main part of his house. He filled a pan from the sink and set it on the stove, before gathering a few rags and some soap. "Master!" Wadsworth cried indignantly, floating into the main room. "You are nude! And cooking something!"

The sniper nodded in reply, with a small smile on his lips. "Yes, Wadsworth, I am. It is my house, and I can walk around undressed if I like." He said in a joking tone.

"Well, yes, of course, Master, just…" The floating robot seemed to have trouble finding the right words. "My receptors are burning at the sight! Please, gather some common decency!" Having said his piece, Wadsworth hovered away to do something.

As the water began to heat up, Dare looked around his house with a thoughtful frown. He had a home, equipment, food, water, a personal robot butler, the affection of a beautiful woman and companionship with Moira, Lucas, Gob, and now Lucy West. The Wasteland wasn't the best place for anyone, and yet, he'd managed to carve out a life in Megaton.

And right now, all it brought to mind were the men and women he had been traveling with at the beginning. The Slavers had more than likely killed or sold many of them, or worse. The cold burning of guilt began to gnaw at his stomach.

He'd reconned Paradise Falls, gathered information about the bastards who called that place home, and he knew that it was unassailable. Without a large force, he couldn't attack that hive of scum and villainy, and even if he did manage to scrape up a force, _and_ they managed to succeed, the Slavers would kill the slaves out of spite.

Paradise Falls was not something he could attack...not from the outside, anyway. Dare had watched the entrance carefully, and he knew that the guards out front would let in anyone, as long as they looked threatening enough. He had cobbled together an outfit that should pass muster, and he was, admittedly, a sneaky bastard.

Nodding determinedly to himself, Dare straightened his back and created a goal. He would sneak into Paradise Falls tonight, and he would set the slaves free.

Coming back from his thoughts, Dare turned off the stove and took the washing materials up stairs. Stepping into his room, he found Silver stretched languidly on the bed, waiting for him with a smile. She crooked a finger at him, and he closed the door.

After washing up, which had inevitably led to another few rounds and, subsequently, another cleaning session, the two lovers had eaten breakfast, and the sniper was off to see Moira. He hadn't scavenged much the day before, but he knew she would be interested the blueprints he had acquired, probably more so than the few explosives he hadn't given back to Robert; she was eccentric like that.

Cracking open the door to Craterside Supply, the sniper entered the store, finding Moira tinkering with some small device on the counter while the merc leaned against the wall as usual.

"Oh, hey Dare!" Moira greeted him cheerfully. He couldn't help but smile at her. More than a few people in Megaton called her crazy or annoying, but Dare found her to be a happy breath of fresh air in an altogether too miserable world. "What can I do for you today?"

"Well, I had an interesting day yesterday, and I came across something that might interest you." Dare replied with a smile, spreading the blueprints over the counter. "It's an improvised weapon."

"Ooh, the 'Shishkebab'," The eccentric shopkeeper cooed, "It uses gas from a motorcycle's fuel tank to wreathe a blade in fire. That's sounds useful!"

The sniper nodded in agreement. "It's not exactly my thing, so I figured I'd sell it to you. You would find more use for it, I'm sure."

Moira clapped her hands excitedly, bouncing up and down on the spot. "Oh yes, I can definitely make this useful! How much do you want for these?" She asked with a rather cute tilt of her head.

Dare shrugged slightly, not really caring. "Whatever you think is fair, Moira. I trust you." He admitted readily, earning a happy grin from the excitable woman. As she gathered some amount of caps in a bag, the sniper leaned on the counter. "So, have you decided on that job you were thinking about?"

She quirked an eyebrow at him in question, before realization dawned in her soft brown eyes. "Oh, that's right! So, funny story, I was wondering outside of town a couple of weeks ago, and this molerat just jumped out nowhere and bit my arm!" Her hands swung about, miming being attack by an animal, or hugging a very large teddy bear. It was oddly cute either way. "So, I managed to knock it off and killed it with my gun, and after I bandaged myself up and took a dose of Med-X, I got to thinking: What if I had known more about how molerats act? Would I have been able to avoid being injured?"

"Are you okay?" He asked with concern. Even though she said it had been awhile, she was absent-minded.

Moira gave him a small, genuine smile. "Yeah, I was all better in a couple of hours. Though, I sometimes get the odd craving for human flesh…" At his deadpan look, she waved her previous statement off. "Just a joke! Anyway, I started thinking, there are a lot of dangerous things out in the Wastes, and the common person doesn't know all that much about the things that would gladly kill them! So, I want to write a book about how to survive in the Wasteland!"

Dare arched an eyebrow in question. "And you want my help writing it?" He asked quietly.

She nodded cheerfully. "Yup! You know a lot about surviving out in the Wastes, and I think you could really help me!"

"Well, I would be glad to help, if it ends up saving someone's life down the line." He shrugged in return. "What do you need?"

The excitable red-head bounced in place, clapping her hands together excitedly. "Great! Well, I already have a title, 'The Wasteland Survival Guide', and now I just need an introduction, and then we can get started on the first chapter. So, Dare, my Wasteland Expert, what would you say is the most important thing when dealing with the Wastes?"

"Stay out of them as much as possible?" Dare replied dryly, a small smile tugging at his lips as Moira giggled. "The most important thing when dealing with the Wastes is to be aware of your surroundings. There are a _lot_ of things of there that will kill you, given the chance. Do not give them that chance."

The eccentric shopkeeper nodded quickly as her fingers flew across the keyboard of her terminal. "Second is knowledge. You need to know what you're facing and if you should attack them, or run away." He continued, leaning on the counter. "Also, don't be afraid to run away from something you can't handle; there's no shame in avoiding something that might kill you painfully."

"That makes sense," Moira commented simply, "Who in their right mind would want to fight a Deathclaw?"

"Exactly." Dare agreed with a nod. "And if you need to fight, make sure that the situation is to your favor. I kill things at a range because I'm skilled at doing so, and I know that, so, play to your strengths. Is that good?"

The shopkeeper shot him a wide smile. "Yep, I can definitely work with that. So, the first chapter is going to be about day-to-day problems, like where it is and isn't safe to find food, the dangers of radiation, and how to avoid and even profit from those little landmines people seem so fond of leaving around where might walk on them!" She leaned on the counter, looking up at him happy green eyes. "Sounds like fun, right? Which one do you want to start on first?"

Dare thought for a moment. "I'll start with finding food. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, food _and_ medicine," Moira corrected, tilting her head. "Everyone needs those once in awhile, so they need a good place to find them. There's an old Super-Duper Mart not far from here, to the west. I need to know if a place like that still has salvageable supplies."

 _That doesn't sound like it will take too long,_ the sniper thought to himself. "Alright, I'll head there now."

"Okay! Have fun, and if you don't find anything, just come back in one piece!" She waved him as he left the store and headed back to his house to gear up.

…

With his hunting rifle slung across his back, Dare trekked across the Wasteland...for about ten minutes, because when Moira said 'not far from here', she apparently meant it.

The building was intact to a surprising degree, given the state of disrepair, with all four wall still whole. Even the roof seemed solid. Some other people had noticed this as well, and had taken it as a base of operations. Those people happened to be Raiders, though.

Dare had heard two voices chatting about something before he saw anyone, which had caused him to drop into a stealthy crouch and freeze. Hearing that the people hadn't heard him, the sniper slowly crept around the corner of the store and looked around, spotting two female Raiders leaning against the store-front pillars. One was smoking, while the other appeared to be tossing a casually tossing a pistol up and down.

Bringing his rifle up, Dare took aim at the smoking Raider and waited for the other to toss her weapon up. As the pistol left her hand, he fired. The smoking woman jerked as the bullet passed through her skull while the other jumped at the sudden sound, dropping her pistol to the floor. Dare cycled the bolt and shot her in the head as she turned around.

Reloading, he left the bodies where they lay and entered the store proper, pulling out his silenced pistol. The interior of the store was dimly lit with flickering lights, leaving good-sized portions of the floor in shadow.

A Raider wearing a firefighter's helmet strode near the check-out counters with a shotgun held loosely in his hands, while a distant form patrolled over the top of the aisles via makeshift walkways.

Dare hung back in the wide doorway as the Raider passed before sneaking out behind him. As the helmeted man turned back around, the sniper put two rounds through the goggles of the helmet, flinching as the body crumpled to the ground loudly.

"Huh?" The echo of a voice came from the Raider patrolling the aisles, who had apparently heard the noises.

Acting quickly, he dashed to the body and dragged it to a nearby aisle, crouching against the white shelf and looking straight up.

The Raider walked over the makeshift walkways loudly, and upon spotting a pair of boots lying on the floor, she frowned and peered over the edge of the shelf.

Dare shot her in the face and rolled out of the way as the body tumbled to the ground. He secured the rounds from her rifle before moving on, deeper into the store, avoiding the aisles entirely by going down the left side of the store.

As he crept through a darkened section near the bathrooms, another Raider exited the short hallway just in front of him, missing Dare entirely due to the dim lighting and the goggles he wore.

Switching the pistol to his left hand, the sniper drew his knife and ambushed the man from behind, stabbing the blade through the side of his neck and pulling it forward, slicing through his airway and the major arteries in the neck. Blood gushed messily from the open wound, and Raider collapsed and died in a few seconds.

Relieving the bleeding corpse of its pistol ammo and wiping his blade on the clothes, Dare retraced the Raider's steps back into the bathroom, finding that it had been converted into a small den, with a mattress on the floor and table shoved in a stall. Atop the table was a few things, including a syringe of Med-X, a bottle of scotch along with some caps and a half-full bottle of Buffout, a painkiller that was taken orally.

He took the goods and went back to the main floor. Behind a counter in the back sat a pair of beds, one empty and the other bloodstained and occupied by a headless corpse, along with a Raider who was cuddling with it. Dare shook his head in disgust and shot the man.

There was a door nearby that was locked tightly, and the sign next to it read 'Pharmacy'. _I'll find the medical supplies there._ He could barely hear the sounds of conversation echoing down a hall nearby, so he left the door and went to secure the rest of the store.

Creeping down the hall, Dare heard a pair of Raiders conversing. "When the hell are the others getting back?" One groused sourly. "I'm so damn bored!"

"Oh shut the hell up, will ya?" The other replied in annoyance. "If you're so damned bored, why don't you go patrol around this place? It's fuckin' quiet in here."

Steeling his nerves, Dare swung around the corner and shot one of the Raiders in the neck before charging at the other, landing a kick between the legs that made the other drop to his knees. He happened to be kneeling in the position that let the sniper fire a round into his head.

After patting the corpses down, he looked through the nearby ammunition boxes, finding a good amount of ammo and a key that looked to be to Pharmacy door. One of the boxes contained a trio of frag mines, while two lunch boxes strapped with electronics sat on the counter and on the table. They seemed to be some sort of mine and when shook (lightly), they rattled with sound of caps.

It seemed that some Raiders had improvised mines using bottle caps and lunch boxes. Shrugging, Dare took the frag mines and hopped the counter and, since the store was now empty, ran to the front of the store. At one entrance, he dropped the frag mines in a staggered line in the doorway, two hidden by the wall. At the other, he retrieved a pair of his own improvised trip-mines.

The trip-mines were made from parts taken from the explosive slave collars, along with a tin can that was stuffed with turpentine-coated gravel. The explosive was a small, shaped charge that was designed to explode in one direction. In a slave collar, it was directed inward so that if it went off, it only exploded the head and not the people around it. In the mine, the charge was flipped so that it faced up at an angle with a thin wire attached to breaker, with the gravel stuffed in over it. The can was then closed and the wire was stretched out across the doorway and secured with gum or any other adhesive. That way, if someone pulled the wire, it would set off the charge, which would explode up and out, spraying the victim with flaming rocks and pieces of metal.

Dare rigged two to the other doorway, and dropped a bottle-cap mine near the check-out counter.

Heading into the back again, he came across a fridge stuck into an open refrigerator unit at an angle. Upon opening it, he found it to be brimming with scavenged food. _There's the food, now for the medicine._

Dare unlocked the pharmacy door, and his attention was drawn to a counter, where a first-aid box sat on the wall, next to what looked like a miniature nuke, a handful of grenades and a terminal with a few ammo boxes stacked nearby. And next to that was metal pod with a window looking in, showing the form of a Protectron inside.

He stepped into the room and went for the terminal, finding a personnel card on top of it. As he turned the terminal on and booted it up, something came around his neck.

The cold metal of a rusted length of pipe dug into his throat, cutting off his breath. Dare struggled against the assailant, throwing his head back; but whoever held him tilted back, tightening their hold on him.

As darkness began to creep up on the edges of his vision, Dare could only struggle and imagine how his death might affect his friends.

With his breath gone, his consciousness followed.

…

 **(I just want to warn people, you might not like what happens next. Look for the '...' to signal the end)**

The first thing Dare felt when he awoke was small waves of pain emanating from his neck, and sharp prickles dancing about in his skull. Then came...pleasure? It was mixed with pain and came with the sharp slap of skin meeting skin.

His eyes snapped open, immediately landing on the woman bouncing harshly on his lap, moaning and groaning in pleasure. His back rested on a mattress, and his arms were pulled out and tied down with chains.

Apparently, there had been a Raider woman hiding in the Pharmacy storage, and she was the one to choke him out. And she was now using his body for sex. Without his consent, though should have been implied by 'choke him out'.

The woman hadn't bothered to undress fully, only discarding her lower clothing, pulling his pants down and opening the front of his armor. She had thrown aside all of his weapons, though.

Dare grunted in discomfort as the Raider slammed down on his length, noticing that her captive had awoken. "Ooh, you're awake, are ya?" She grunted, her deranged eyes and pink mohawk glinting in the dim light as she slowed to stop, straddling his hips. "Well, be a good boy and just lie there. You'll never want to leave when I'm done with you."

Then the Raider went back to it. Dare scowled and shifted, kicking his pants off to free his legs, bucking slightly. "Oh, that's right! Get into it, big boy!" He was definitely not getting into it with her.

Pulling the chains tight around his wrists, he pulled and pushed his back down while reaching up with his legs, getting his feet around the Raider's neck. Then Dare pulled with his legs while pushing his back up, throwing her from his body and into the nearby counter.

 **...**

She would be dazed only for a little bit, so Dare roughly pulled on the chains holding him down. The meat hooks that some poor soul had been hung on had been pushed into the ground and stomped on, and the tiles they were hooked to were loose from age. With a few strong pulls, the hooks were pulled out of the ground.

Now free, Dare discarded the chains and rolled off the mattress, scrambling across the dirty floor to the pile of pouches and weapons that had been taken off of him. The first thing he managed to grab was his revolver, and he pointed it at the Raider, making her freeze in place.

"Don't kill me, please! I'm just so lonely, all I want is to be loved!" She pleaded as he stood in front of her, pantsless. "You wouldn't kill a lonely woman, would you?"

"You raped me." He replied dryly, pulling the hammer back. The sniper didn't appreciate her attempt to appeal to his sentimentality, not after knocking him unconscious and having her way with his body. And she was wearing an armored top that a belt around the middle, which had a trio of dismembered hands hanging from it.

She was taken aback by his reply, immediately switching tack. "We can make this place our base of operations! There are plenty of places nearby that are full of women we could steal and make into slaves!"

 _And now, she's trying to appeal to my sexuality._ Dare thought blandly. The revolver kicked in his hand, the .357 bullet tearing through her skull and splattering her brains on the floor. "No." He said simply to the corpse as it fell.

Rolling his neck, Dare looked around the area, finding himself near the Pharmacy. The Raider had apparently dragged him out of the back room and onto the empty mattress. Finding a half-empty bottle of vodka, the sniper took a few gulps of the clear alcohol before upending the rest of the contents on his crotch. Better to deal with the pain then possibly contract something from her.

Hissing at the stinging, he quickly rinsed himself off with a bottle of his water and put his clothes back on. Truthfully, Dare was lucky. Sure, he had just been having sex against his will, but at least the Raider hadn't wanted to cannibalize him or skin him alive. And wasn't male. And it wasn't his first time waking up with a woman he didn't know riding him, though he sincerely hoped it would be the last.

After stretching and vowing to clean himself further, Dare took a pill from the Buffout bottle to deal with his possibly bruised pelvis and went back into the Pharmacy to finish his job. Getting back to the terminal and accessing it with the key card, he found that it contained very little in the way information and the option to activate the Protectron nearby.

At that moment, a series of explosions and screams of pain echoed through the store. Smirking to himself, Dare waited for a second, and upon hearing no other noises, figured that the returning Raiders had all been killed in his traps. Another explosion rang out, and then the store fell silent.

The Pharmacy room contained several bottles of drinks, including vodka and scotch, and about eleven bottles of Nuka-Cola and four bottles of the same drink that glowed purple. Along with that were a few bottles of Buffout, Med-X and Rad-A-Way, which he took. The first-aid box held a good amount of medical supplies, which Dare used to refill his own stocks, and a few ammo boxes that contained assault rifle ammo.

And what looked like a miniature nuke turned out to be just that, a mini-nuke. Dare was unsure about what he would do with it, but he was unwilling to leave it lying around where anyone could pick it up.

After looting most of the store and the bodies, the sniper went around the front and found the remains of the Raiders that had stumbled into his explosive surprise. It looked like five bodies, but there were many pieces scattered around. The force of his trip-mines had knocked a pair of doors off their hinges, and little bits of smoking rock were lying everywhere.

Most of the equipment was broken, though a few pieces had managed to survive. After scavenging what he could, Dare noticed that a room nearby was open and lit, and looking over the counter, he found that it had some things that looked interesting.

Sliding over the counter, he found an empty bottle next to what looked like some sort of gun. He'd seen one before, being carried around by Moira and in her stocks. She'd identified it as a 'Laser Pistol', which, as he inferred from the name, probably shot lasers. It looked more complicated than the good-old-fashioned bullet-shooting weapons, so he had moved on.

The Laser Pistol was blocky and rectangular, and the one Dare examined seemed to be in poor condition. A quick check of the room brought up a handful of energy cells and another less-than-mint condition pistol.

Shrugging, Dare put them with the other weapons in his pack and left the Super-Duper Mart, heading back to Megaton. Looking up, he noticed that the sun was crossing over into dusk territory, which meant he had a another hour or so before he had to leave for Paradise Falls.

Stepping into the town, the first person he came across was the Sheriff Lucas Simms. "Hey, Sheriff," He paused, noticing that his voice was rough and gravelly, like he had inhaled a handful of dirt. _That might actually help my disguise._

The older man arched an eyebrow at him. "You look like you've had a rough time of it, son. Were you out scavenging?"

"Yeah, I went down to the Super-Duper Mart nearby for Moira. That's actually something I wanted to talk to you about." He withdrew a bottle of water and took a long drink as the Sheriff crossed his arms.

"What about it?"

Dare coughed lightly. "Well, I noticed that it's held together pretty well, and besides the front entrances, it's also secure. I was thinking it might make a good settlement."

Simms hummed. "Like that school you cleared out that's becoming a trader outpost?" He asked, interested.

"Sort of," Dare replied slowly. "I was thinking, more like a small town. With the right use of the space and some fortifications, it could be easily defensible."

The older man nodded slowly. "I think I see what you're getting, at son. I tell you what, I'll bring it up at the next town meeting, see if I can drum up some interest in the project, and I'll let you know. Sound good?"

"Sure does, Sheriff." He said with a nod of his head. "I've got to ge see Moira now, and then I'm heading out."

"Where to?" Lucas asked, adjusting his hat. "Going back to lookin' at Paradise Falls?"

A dark look crossed the Dare's normally placid visage. "Not just looking, this time." His tone, while dry and rough, bespoke the murderous intent behind his words.

"I see," The Sheriff murmured. "Do you want any help?"

The sniper shook his head firmly. "No. I can't ask anyone else to risk their lives like this. I'm going it alone."

Simms nodded with a sigh. "I can see I won't be able to change your mind on this son, so, just be safe, and come back in one piece, you hear?"

"I will, Sheriff. Have a good day." Dare left the man behind and strode to Craterside Supply, finding Moira sweeping her shop. "I'm back."

"Oh, goodie! How was the scavenging?" She asked excitedly, before frowning at his battered visage. "I thought the Mart would be empty. If I had known it wasn't, I would've told you."

Dare waved her apology off. "Don't worry about it, I won't hold it against you." He began pulling out the loot he had acquired and set it on the counter. "So, I found that the Super-Duper Mart was being as base for a small band of Raiders. They were using it to store a good amount of supplies including food, medicine and some weird kind of Nuka-Cola that's purple and glowing."

Moira picked up one of the glowing bottles and turned it around. "Yeah, it's called Nuka-Cola Quantum. I've tried it before, and it's not bad, but it makes your pee glow. I heard that someone is trying to collect a lot of them."

"Well, I've got five of them." Dare replied dryly, putting the soda back in his bag.

The eccentric shopkeeper made an excited noise upon spotting the pair of laser pistols, then groaned in dismay at their condition. "Some people have no appreciation for technology," She groused to herself, before looking up at the sniper. "So, you found a good amount of food and medicine at the Mart, but how did you get around the Raiders?"

"The Mart wasn't all that well lit, so I hid in the shadows and took them down one at a time. I also heard a pair of them talking about a group coming back, so I planted a few mines near the entrances." He took a few parts from the guns he collected and used them to fix up his own. "I also found a Protectron still sealed in a container."

"Really?" Moira asked with excited, sparkling eyes.

Dare nodded, a small smirk playing about his lips. "Yup. It's locked up with a terminal close by, so I grabbed the key card." He handed it off to the ecstatic woman, smiling as she squealed happily.

"Oh, thank you so much! I've always wanted a little robot of my own!" She pulled half-way over the counter, squeezing him tightly."Simms wouldn't let me tinker with Deputy Weld, but now I can just tinker with my own! I'll even call him 'Tinker'!"

Patting the excitable shopkeeper on the back, the sniper extricated himself from her grip. "Well, it's sitting in the back of the Super-Duper Mart for the taking." He told her, gathering the bag full of caps she passed him and storing it in his pouch.

"Right!" Moira clapped her hands together, before pointing at the merc. "You, come with me. Dare, take this." She presented the small device she had been working with earlier. "It's a Food Sanitizer, just put it in with your food and it should them more…"

"Sanitary?" Dare offered with a small smile, examining the device. It was a small black box with a fan on top of it, and a grill on the side.

"Yup!" She replied, stepping around the counter and shooing the sniper out, "I'll talk to you about the other stuff later, okay? Bye!"

Moira hurried off with the disgruntled merc trotting behind her, giving a short wave. Dare shook his head at the excitable woman and walked calmly to his home, entering to find Silver tapping away at her terminal.

He spun her chair around and pulled her up, pressing a firm kiss to her lips, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her gently. After a minute, he pulled away and buried his face in her silver-blonde hair, inhaling her scent.

Silver was mightily confused by this turn of events, but was not unwilling to return the hug.

Dare sighed softly. He'd been 'used' once before, and just like then, he felt a sense of sliminess and somewhat greasy, dirty in a way that the Wasteland couldn't compare to.

After what might happen tonight, he suspected he would need a very hot bath.

Silver pulled away slightly, looking up at him with a bemused smile. "Not that I mind, but what is this about?" She asked quietly.

"Well, I'm going to Paradise Falls, and I'm going to go inside." He replied with a heavy exhale. "And I'm going to free the slaves there, one way or another. I don't know how it will end, so…"

She pressed her lips to his, cutting the conversation off. "I won't stop you," Silver murmured, breaking away, gazing up into his eyes with water in her own. "Just...you're important to me, okay? So, just….come back."

Dare nodded silently, "I'll try." Hugging her once more, he turned to Wadsworth. "Wadsworth, I need a haircut."

…

The man that trekked across the dry, grey dirt of the Wastes did not look like Dare at all. He wore a heavily patched and reinforced blueish-grey jacket with matching pants. The high collar with a metallic breathing mask helped hide his bruised throat, and his hair had been cut into a rough-looking mohawk, and he had taken a handful of dirt and rubbed it into his face to enhance the look. He had an assault rifle slung on his back and his revolved on his thigh, with his knife on his belt and the silenced pistol hidden in his clothes.

In other words, Dare looked like any other Slaver trotting the Wasteland.

As he approached Paradise Falls, the guard at the entrance looked up with a sour visage. "Whaddya want?" He barked gruffly.

Dare scowled at him. He had noted that most Slavers looked pissed all the time, and by having to deal with them, it was an easy look for him to pull off. "I'm here to buy some damn slaves. You gonna let me in, or what?"

"Name." The grouchy bastard grunted at him.

"Guile." It wasn't as if they would know the meaning of the name, and those that did would probably take it as a joke.

"Well, 'Guile'," The guard said mockingly, "I can't let just anyone in. How do I know you even have the caps to afford one slave, let alone more than that."

 _I figured this would happen._ Dare though, withdrawing a small bag full of caps, dropping it on the small table. "Everyone has a price. How does five-hundred caps sound?"

The guard swiped the bag off the table and stashed it away. "Sounds like enough to let you in." He said, scowling at Dare. "You can go in."

Nodding, the disguised sniper made his way up the winding bath to the main entrance. Looking up, he saw the dilapidated arch proudly stating 'Paradise Falls Shopping Center', which was decorated with the skeletons of some poor souls.

Before he could take another step, the double-door from a train car that served as the entrance was flung open, and a young man in simple clothes came bustling through. As he ran, his eyes met Dare's.

"Carter?" Dare muttered as time seemed to slow down. Carter was one of the people traveling with the caravan that brought them to the D.C. Wasteland.

Carter's eyes went wide, his mouth opening...then his collar beeped, once.

And then his head exploded.

The sniper blinked and flinched as blood splattered over his face. Horrified, Dare watched as the headless body of one the people he had come to rescue tumbled to the ground.

Clamping down on his emotions with his Sniper's Mind, Dare sneered and nudged the body with his foot before walking in to Paradise Falls proper. As he expected, the place was rather messy, with mercs and slavers lounging around at the bar, the sign newly repaired.

His eyes fell on the bartender, another person he recognized. Some brute of a man wearing spiked metal armor was shouting at him with a thick accent, and although he was definitely a slave, Frank refused to stand down.

So, the bald, thickly bearded man snatched the super sledge off of his back and brought it down, pulping Frank's head.

Rage began to build in Dare. He had _just_ infiltrated Paradise Falls, and two people he knew, personally, had been killed right in front of him. He had to keep how felt hidden, though he made a note to shoot the bastard in the back of the head.

Dare quickly strode past the body and the slavers, past the cages containing three kids and four adults, making his way to the place he had seen the Slavers' Leader come from. At one point, it had been movie theatre...now, it was the home of the ruthless slaver.

Opening the doors, Dare found the man he was looking for. He wore a clean crimson suit and a dark purple shirt underneath, with matching pants and shoes and superior look on his dark-skinned face. "Oh? Someone new?"

"Guile." Dare introduced himself with a short nod. "I'm here looking to purchase some...workers."

Smirking, the man held his hand out. "Eulogy Jones. I run this place."

Dare had to retrain himself from shooting the man in his smug face as he shook his hand, though the sight of something that came into view as Eulogy lifted his arm nearly sent him into a fit of rage.

It was a simple looking pistol, looking like a bulked-up 9mm or a trimmed-down 10mm, painted dark grey with a thick stripe of crimson on the side. That was one of Dare's guns. More importantly, that was Dare's mother's gun.

To avoid the temptation of pulling out his knife and jamming it into Eulogy's throat, the disguised sniper turned his attention to the two women flanking the Slaver. One had short brown hair and a similar skin-tone, wearing a dirty dark-red dress that bared a good amount of leg and cleavage. Her dark brown eyes met his, a spark of defiance flickering in their depths.

On the other side was a woman with lighter skin, her off-white hair cut into a mohawk-like shape. Her almond-brown eyes also had a similar spark of defiance, though her's was more muted and slightly crazy. She wore a similar dress, though her's was pink.

Both had slave collars firmly locked around their necks.

Following his sight, Eulogy smirked. "I see you've noticed Clover," He said, gesturing towards the woman in pink. "She's one of the finer products I'm willing to sell."

"Oh?" Dare arched in eyebrow in question. "And why would I want to buy her?"

Eulogy threw his arm over the sniper's shoulder, the other pointing at Clover. "I'll tell you why: because Clover is the craziest girl I've ever seen." The woman puffed her chest out proudly, her eyes fixed adoringly on her master. "And I'm an expert on crazy girls. Crazy in a fight, crazy in the sack, crazy every which way but loose!"

Dare was more on-edge than he ever had been before, hiding his hand in his pocket so that they couldn't see that he was clenching it tightly into a fist, restraining himself from attack the man with his arm around him.

"But most of all," Eulogy continued, noticing the slight shaking. "she's crazy in love with whoever's holding her leash. And, for the low cost of a thousand caps, Miss Clover could be crazy for you."

The sniper had taken a large amount of his caps in preparation for time like this. He was prepared to buy all of the slaves and set them free, but if Clover's price was any indication, that wouldn't be enough. However, if Clover really did fall in love with whoever owned her, then she might now have any problems helping him kill every Slaver in Paradise Falls.

"You've got a way with words." Dare said with a smirk, turning to the black man and holding his hand out. "I'll take the crazy bitch."

He handed Eulogy a pouch containing a thousand caps easily. It wasn't as if he wasn't going to get them back soon enough. "Good choice," Eulogy uttered with satisfaction, weighing the pouch in his hand. "Clover! This man here, he's your new master! Grab your shit and get ready to leave!"

The pink-dressed woman fixed adoring brown eyes on Dare, completely ignoring her old master. "Grab your crap." He ordered bluntly, before turning back to the Slaver Leader. "Do you mind if I take a look at your stock? And do you have a clinic or something?"

"Go ahead, just come back if anyone strikes your fancy, and yes, I do." The leader answered. "Cutter's Clinic. It's right across from here. I noticed you shaking a little. Feeling the sting of withdrawal?"

Dare snorted, shaking out his hands. "Took too much damn Jet, so I get the shakes if I don't get a little more."

Waving to the man, he left the building and was joined by Clover, still in her pink dress, but now wielding a Chinese Sword on one hip and a sawed-off shotgun on the other. "I'm ready to go wherever you want, lover." She said happily, her eyes fixed on him.

Gesturing for her to follow, Dare led her into the clinic, finding it to be an old shop that might have been a clothing store at one point, though he couldn't make out the sign. Upon entering, he found a room with two smaller ones connected, part of it separated from the rest by an opaque partition, two blurry figures behind it and a merc holding his arm nearby. "Whoever the hell you are," A scratchy female voice called, "Wait a damn second and I'll be done. Now, hold still!"

The last part was directed at her patient, who gave a muffled grunt of pain. Grabbing Clover by the arm, he pulled her into one of the empty rooms. "Okay, listen to me," He whispered quickly. "My name isn't Guile, it's Dare, and I'm not here to buy slaves, I'm here to kill all of the Slavers, okay?"

The spark in Clover's brown eyes crackled, but her expression didn't change from it's adoring look. "Whatever you want to do, lover, I'll do it gladly."

"We're going to wait until night falls and everyone's asleep, then we'll sneak around and kill every slaver in this place." He explained his plan briefly, listening to Cutter berating her patient. "First, I'll take you to the gun shop and get you some actual clothes, okay?"

"Aww, aren't you sweet?" Clover murmured happily, her hand rubbing his chest.

A little disturbed, Dare stepped back into the clinic as Cutter came out from around the partition, leading a child by the arm. "There, all better, you little brat. If you don't want to get hit, don't stand next to the gate, dumb-shit." She pushed the little girl away, and the merc grabbed her roughly by her bandaged arm and pulled her out of the building. The older woman turned to the newly-formed pair with a small scowl. "What do you want?"

With a small, nearly inaudible _ping_ , something inside of Dare snapped. Heat and pressure thrummed in his head, and the hammering of his heart-beat thundered in his ears. Calmly, he held up a finger, before turning to Clover. "Clover...change of plans."

His right hand slid into the jacket and smoothly withdrew his silenced pistol, casually bringing it up and unloading a round into Cutter's head. Before the body had a chance to fully fall, Dare turned and strode from the clinic, his visage and body language completely calm despite the furious heat in his blood.

Stepping out, he saw two slavers exiting the barracks, their movements slow, like the air had been turned to tar...except for him. Within a second, two bullets pierced their skulls and Dare moved on at a walk, negligently shooting a merc stepping out of the gun shop in the throat.

Coming around the corner, he found the main group standing from their seats at the bar and around the pool table, grabbing at their weapons. But to Dare...they moved so slowly.

His eyes landed on the bearded bastard who had killed Frank, his pistol coughing as a pair of rounds ripped through his neck. Moving faster than ever, Dare's gun snapped to another merc, a bullet punching through one of his eyes, before snapping to a woman in a leather vest holding a shotgun, shooting her twice in the chest and one more to the head.

Someone screamed, "Father!" and the sniper smoothly stepped back as the wide head of a super sledge swung down in front of him. He dropped the pistol as it was hit by the hammer, and it was brought down to the ground and smashed into pieces.

Following through, Dare spun on his heel and slammed his elbow into the back of the blond man's head, sending him stumbling away. Judging by the armor and the cry, he was the bearded one's son.

As the hammer-wielding man stumbled away, Dare locked eyes with the dirty man in combat armor. He was the one who had been poking the kids with the stick. He was going to die.

Suddenly, Dare's revolver was in his hand, kicking as a trio of bullets punched through the man's shoulders and his chest, sending him back into the electrified fence. The man began to spasm and jerk as thousands of volts flowed through his body, smoke rising and the smell of burnt flesh permeating the air.

Turning to deal with the blond, the sniper found Clover clubbing the slaver over the head with the butt of her shotgun before blowing his head into pieces with the pull of the trigger. "Nobody hurt my lover!" She called angrily, turning as the guards from the entrance of Paradise Falls burst through the door, firing off a shot that stumbled one.

Dare capped the other guard in the knee, kicking the gun out of his hands before executing him with another shot. Quickly, he pulled the bag of caps out and put it back in his pocket. "Clover," He said quietly as she stabbed the other guard with her sword. "Grab whatever gear you want...I'm going to see Eulogy."

"You are so nice to me, lover!" She said happily, moving to the headless corpse of the blond man.

Stepping towards the former theater, Dare flicked the cylinder open and emptied the spent shells on the ground before quickly and efficiently reloading it. Kicking open the door, he dived and rolled away as a rain of bullets ripped through the door.

Coming up, his heart pounding in his ears, Dare saw the woman in the red dresses aiming at him with a 10mm SMG while Eulogy stood behind her, pointing his mother's gun at him. Fury raced through his veins, and he shot the SMG out of the woman's hands before shooting the slaver in the wrist, the force of the bullet tearing his hand clean off.

Two more .357 bullets tore through his knees, leaving the man in the red suit kneeling on the floor in a spreading puddle of his blood. Crimson, the other woman, upon seeing her master down, stopped charging at Dare and stood between the two hesitantly.

"Get him you stupid bitch!" Eulogy shouted in pain.

Crimson turned to look at the kneeling slaver, before looking at Dare. The spark in her eyes roared to life like a bonfire and she sneered. "Not a damn chance, 'daddy'." The word was spat like it was acid.

Nodding to her, Dare stepped past her and picked up the dismembered hand holding his mother's gun, discarding the limb like it was trash. Holding it in his hands, Dare released a heavy, thankful sigh, before turning on Eulogy. "Where did you get this gun?" He asked calmly, his voice low.

"Fuck you!" The man shouted, clutching the stump of his wrist.

Shrugging, the sniper retrieved the SMG and fired it into the ceiling, emptying the clip. Grabbing the slaver by the neck, he tilted his head back and pressed the steaming barrel to his forehead.

Eulogy screamed in pain as Dare barked, "Where did you get it?!"

"A couple months ago!" He shouted, recoiling as the sniper released his neck. "Some guys came by with a group of slaves, and one of 'em had it on them, and I bought it because it matches my suit! That's all!"

 _So I won't find my father's gun here._ Dare thought with a scowl. "Where were they going?"

Eulogy whimpered in pain as the sniper dropped the SMG. "They said something about a 'pit', but that's all I know, I swear!"

Huffing angrily, Dare brought his revolver up, pointing it at the slaver's head. _Wait..._ He stopped as a sudden thought occurred to him, the echo of a man's voice coming back. ' _Vengeance is for the weak...Justice is for the mighty. Is this justice...or vengeance?_

"Are you gonna shoot me?!" Eulogy yelled at him, his face pale from bloodloss.

"No." Dare stated firmly, to the shock of Crimson, Clover and the kneeling slaver. He turned to Crimson, flipping the gun so that he was presenting the grip to her. "You've suffered under his ownership. You deserve to kill him."

Her dark brown eyes flicked the gun and Eulogy indecisively. Coming to a decision, Crimson took the offered gun and pointed it at her former master. He looked up at her with narrowed eyes. "Crimson, do what your daddy says, and shoot the son of a bitch that gave you the gun." He ordered firmly.

The woman in the red dress twitched as months of abuse and conditioning warred with her desire to be free. Her hand shook with her hesitancy. "You…" She whispered, her eyes going from Dare to Eulogy and back again.

"Dammit, Crimson! Daddy said shoot him, you stupid bitch!" The crimson-suited man screamed, spittle flying from his mouth.

Crimson pulled the trigger.

Eulogy looked down at the new hole in his chest in shock, before looking up at the woman, furious tears trailing down her dark cheeks. "You...you are _not_ my daddy!" She whispered through gritted teeth. "And I am not your slave!"

Crimson shot him again, his head jerking back as the bullet passed through his brain, his body slumping to the floor a few seconds later.

The woman dropped the revolver to the ground, openly sobbing in a mixture of grief and relief. Quietly, Dare retrieved his weapon and holstered it, patting the crying Crimson on the shoulder. He turned and saw Clover, standing behind them wearing metal armor, having equipped herself with it, a shotgun and a super sledge, looking confused and happy at the same time. "What now, lover?" She asked quietly, a change from her usual firm tone.

He shrugged. "All the slavers in Paradise Falls are dead. All that's left is to free the slaves." Looking down at the corpse of Eulogy Jones, the former Leader of the Slavers of Paradise Falls, Dare was struck by a sudden urge. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled the battered box of cigarettes the stranger had given him and flipped it open, retrieving one of the smokes and sticking it in his mouth. Searching the body, he found a gold-plated lighter and used it to light his cigarette.

He pulled his hat, the battered fedora having been stuffed into a pouch, and stuck it on his head, the urge to hum a few bars of a strange song striking him.

…

Approaching the fenced-in cages that held the slaves, the smoking, burning corpse of the merc still slumped against it, Dare switched off the generator electrifying the metal and shot the lock off.

"You're free." He stated simply to the former slaves, their necks collarless.

…

…

" _Good morning, children, it's Three-Dog, Awoooooo! From Galaxy News Radio, the only voice of truth in the D.C. Hellhole! Now, so good news from Paradise Falls. I know what you're thinking, 'that wretched hive of scum and villany? How could there be any good news coming out of there, unless all the bastards living there are dead?' Well, that's just it, children. Believe or not, I had a hard time, but Paradise Falls is slaver-free! How did this come about, you may ask? Well, I managed to meet a former slave all the way down here, in my mutie-infested bunker. She told me how a guy dressed as a merc came into the place, apparently looking to buy some 'workers', even meeting with the lead bastard, Eulogy Jones and leaving with a new follower. Then, she told me how that merc stormed out and took out every slaver by himself, wielding only, and I', quoting her, a 'gun made of light'. Now, I'm thinking she might've been dehydrated and hallucinating, but still, someone with balls of steel infiltrated the slaver Paradise and killed all of them, by himself. I don't know how much of her story is true, but whoever you are, Gunslinger, wherever you are...thank you."_

" _And now, some music."_

…

….

….

 **A/N: And there we go, chapter five is done. This one is so long because it's the last chapter.**

 **Hah! Joking! It's actually the penultimate chapter of the beginning arc, which I've tentatively labelled 'Who Dares, Arc'. It's the action finale of the chap, so I made it a lot longer than usual, and the next chapter, the full-on finale, will be regular length.**

 **So, I feel the need to explain a few things. First off, the events in the Super Duper Mart. Yeah, I don't like rape and I sure as hell don't like writing it, but I felt like it was necessary to illustrate that the Wasteland is not. A. Nice. Place. And that this story is firmly in 'M-Rated' territory. As if the blood and gore wasn't enough for that.**

 **Also, settlements. Someone asked me about them, as they're going to be a feature in Fallout 4. Now, while I'm not going to be doing that exactly like that, I'm not against it. So, the cleared out Super Duper Mart might become a new settlement, and so might Paradise Falls.**

 **And by 'might', I mean yeah. Waste not, want not.**

 **Also guns. Besides the dog-tag with his name on it, the sniper rifle that was his dad's and the handgun that was his mom's are the only things Dare has left of them, so he'll want to get them back. I also have interesting names and abilities for both of them.**

 **So, how'd you like the chapter? Why not review and let me know?**

 **Stay Awesome.**

 **~Soleneus**

 **P.S.: I don't know why, but I don't like using numbers in sentences. Unless it's like, a gun (10mm), I typically don't use them, like 'and there were 10 guys standing around' because it just feels...lazy, I guess. And the presence of numbers in the middle of letters throws me off, and my weird, Grammar-Nazi-esque sensibilities come out and I just want to correct it to 'ten' instead. It's kind of weird, as I said. Something to think about.**

 **Stay Awesome Some More.**

 **~still Soleneus**


	6. The End of an Arc

Paradise Falls was Slaver free. Their leader, Eulogy Jones, lay on the floor of his 'house', dead at the hands of one of his former slaves. The slaves were freed, and the Slavers were no longer living.

After Crimson managed to pull herself together, she, Clover and Dare disabled the explosive collars around the slave's necks, then disabled the generator electrifying the fence and shot the lock off of the door.

Watching the former slaves pick through the remains of the slavers, taking their choice of equipment from the bodies and buildings, Dare leaned against the bar and refrained from grunting in discomfort as a pounding headache beat inside of his skull, thin rivulets of blood dripping from his nose. Sniffing wetly, he grabbed a rag from behind the counter and wiped at his face, his eyes clenched shut.

That was the cost of using the Sniper's Mind for too long. It started with headaches that eventually went up in strength, followed by bleeding from the nose as part of the brain began to hemorrhage, and if they didn't stop then, they would die.

And while the pain was not enjoyable, Dare didn't mind it. It seemed that he had fully unlocked his heritage, though time would tell if it would last, and he wasn't too keen and trying right then and dying painfully.

Wiping away the red fluid, the sniper looked down at the barely-burning cigarette sitting on the counter. Despite the battered box, the smoke itself was pristine and the curling fume wafting off of it was calming. Picking it up, Dare stuck it between his lips and took a draw, feeling almost immediate relief for his headache.

Pulling the smoke away, he gave it a suspicious look. _That's strange._ He thought, spinning the burning bundle in his fingers. _It's helping my pain, somehow._

Not willing to look too closely, he stuck it back in his mouth and stepped away from the bar. After grabbing a pack Brahmin from their pen, he led it into the former theatre and began to pack away everything with value into the saddle-bags. Among those items were five more of the glowing Nuka-Cola's, a Vault-Tec Bobblehead depicting the Vault Boy standing behind a podium, several bottles of whiskey and vodka, a few lockboxes containing various ammo, mostly consisting of 10mm and .44 bullets and medium-sized pad-locked box that rattled with caps.

As Dare took the former slaver leader's hat and put it with the other things, Clover stepped into the room with an excited, almost childish look on her face, a piece of blue cloth draped over her shoulder. "Look what I found, lover!" She announced gleefully, holding out her right hand for inspection.

He gently gripped her limb and examined the thick metal glove with a curious gaze. It was a little rusted, but well oiled and cared for, with a slab of reinforced metal sitting above the wrist, secured to the glove by rivets, with a diamond-patterned piece of metal facing out. "What is it?" He asked, letting it go.

Clover grinned wildly and turned, throwing her clenched fist at a nearby wall. Just as her elbow fully extended, a pneumatic hiss sounded out and the slab of metal shot forward, punching a hole straight through the aging drywall. "It's punches things better, lover!" She turned pleading eyes on him, a slightly disturbing sight for a grown woman to have. "Can I keep it, please?"

Thinking it over, the sniper shrugged. "Sure, just be careful with it."

The former slave skipped over to him and threw her arms around his neck, avoiding sticking him with the spikes on the shoulders, and passionately kissed him. "You are so good to me, lover!" She chirped happily, striding out of the building with a little skip to her step.

 _That's not going to be weird at all._ Dare thought derisively, securing the packs to the double-headed animal, before leading it out, finding the former slaves milling around the oddly quiet center of Paradise Falls. Sighing, he knelt by the pile of scrap that was once Burke's Silenced 10mm and retrieved whatever salvageable components there were, including the silencer. Finished, he stood and glanced at the former slaves, all looking to him for direction. "We're heading for Megaton."

One of the three little kids raised his hand. "We're going back to Little Lamplight, Mungo." He declared firmly.

"Are you sure?" The sniper asked with an arched eyebrow.

The little kids drew himself up. "We can take care of our-!"

Dare cut him off with a short wave of his hand. "Not what I was asking." He interjected shortly. "Do you know your way back?"

The girl of the group nodded quickly. "Yup! We can make it there, no problem. You're not so bad, for Mungo. You should come visit us in Little Lamplight, we'll tell the Mayor you're okay so he doesn't shoot you." She turned to one of the other slaves, a man with a wispy goatee. "You too, Rory."

"I make sure to do that," He agreed, giving her a short hug. "Stay safe."

She nodded in return, and the three children ran off across the Wasteland, the setting sun throwing their shadows long across the ground.

Dare tugged on the Brahmin's saddle and led the small convoy in the direction of Megaton, the former slaves all marching in line behind him, save for Clover, who stuck to his side, and Crimson, who walked on the other side of the dual-headed cow. He glanced at his new companion, noticing the blue cloth draped over her shoulder. "Clover?" He asked, pointing at the garment. "What's that?"

"Oh! I forgot to show you this." She removed the piece and held it up on front of her, revealing it to be a blue jumpsuit that was trimmed with yellow, the number 77 on the back. "I don't know what this is, lover, but I thought it might be interesting."

He hummed in thought. "It looks like a Vault Jumpsuit." Dare thought aloud. Though he had never seen one in person, the tales surrounding the Vaults made it pretty recognizable. "It's a good find, might be worth something." Moira would probably like it.

Clover smiled and draped it over her shoulder, looking like a kid with a piece of candy...a heavily armored kid carrying an advanced sledgehammer and a pair of shotguns.

The dry, barren earth crunched under their tread, the only noise besides the low, whispered words between the former slaves. Dare peeked at Crimson from the corner of his eye. The dark-skinned woman had changed into some of the rough, more protective clothing that most Wastelanders wore from her revealing dress. She was obviously deep in thought, her glazed eyes fixed on nothing, simply putting one foot in front of the other.

"Crimson?" His rough voice pierced the veil of her whirling emotions, pulling her from the stupor she found herself in. "What are you going to do now?"

She scoffed, shaking her head with a rueful smile on her face. "How would I know? I just got freed. I don't know what the hell I'll do _tonight_ , let alone the rest of my life."

Clover scowled at the dark-skinned woman and gripped her sawn-off shotgun. "Don't talk to my lover like that, bitch!" She growled.

Dare grasped her arm firmly, looking directly into her eyes. "Calm down, Clover. She did nothing wrong."

And like that, the tension was gone. The former slave released her gun and smiled happily. "Okay." She replied, simply enjoying her 'lovers' presence.

Crimson shook her head, an unhappy bend to her lips. "In some ways, I'm luckier than she is," She snorted at the thought. "Somehow. Eulogy didn't break me like he broke her...I don't think she'll ever be how she was."

"You've known each other for awhile?" The sniper asked curiously, glancing between the two women.

"Believe it or not, we actually used to be friends." Crimson replied miserably, looking at Clover with sad eyes, as the other woman completely ignored her, her armored arm slipped around Dare's. "He focused on her more than me, and she just...snapped...I….I don't want to talk about it anymore."

Her voice had tapered off to a low whisper, and Dare nodded in understanding. "I understand."

Necessity had stayed his hand for more than a month, and every slave in Paradise Falls had suffered for it. It was no use wondering 'what if'; the time had been spent and there were no refunds, only dealing with his what his actions had caused.

They fell silent and remained that way as the small caravan traveled to Megaton, the dark metal walls rising in the distance as the sun's last rays began to lay long on the earth.

Dare breathed a relieved sigh he wasn't entirely aware of holding as the sniper above the gate-still didn't know his name-looked down at him with an incredulous look visible even through the goggles on his face.

"You don't do anything by half, do you?" He called down, waving.

Dare shrugged with a small, self-deprecating smirk on his face. "Not if I can help it, apparently. Can you call the Sheriff?" He asked politely, blowing a small cloud of smoke.

"Will do."

The sniper lead them into the town proper, inwardly noting the that smoke hadn't even burned halfway down, even though it had been lit for more than an hour. He also noticed that he felt revitalized, as if he hadn't been choked out, used and walked a few miles, though he was still fatigued in a mental sense.

Lucas Simms met them in front of the deactivated bomb, his arms crossed over his chest and a slightly stunned look on his weathered face. "Well, I can honestly say that I didn't expect this." He muttered quietly, looking over the Wastelanders.

Dare sighed tiredly, running a hand over his mohawk. "What did you expect, Sheriff?"

The older man shrugged. "I don't know, exactly." He replied honestly. "Well folks, welcome to Megaton. You're all welcome to stay as long as you need, and if you need anything, just find me, okay?"

The sniper watched as the Sheriff enlisted a few citizens hanging around to show the former slaves to the communal quarters, rubbing his eyes. "I'm going to head home, Sheriff." He spoke up. "It's been a long day."

"I can believe that, son. You've done good today, you deserve the rest." Simms smiled approvingly. "I do want to talk to you tomorrow, though."

Dare nodded, grinding the butt of his smoke into the ground. "Sure." He trekked back up to his house, Clover following behind him, and tied the Brahmin up to a bit of pipe before unlocking the door. "Clover, can you start unloading, please?"

Looking mighty pleased to be helping, she nodded quickly and began to pull packs off of the animal as the door opened. Silver looked up from her terminal with wide eyes, before she jumped up and dashed at Dare, throwing her arms around his neck. "Dare!" She cried happily, pulling back from the hug to kiss him.

Clover stepped into the house and set a pack aside, scowling at the woman embracing her master. "What the hell are you doing to my lover?" She barked, meaningfully cracking her knuckles.

Dare rolled his eyes and set Silver down, who looked between them with a confused expression. "Who's this, Dare?" She asked warily, sliding behind the sniper for protection.

"It's a long story, and I'll explain it in a bit." He replied, looking at Clover. "Clover, this is Silver. She lives with me, and she is not someone you can hurt, understand?"

The hostility was abruptly gone, and the white-haired slave smiled adoringly. "Okay, lover." She stepped back out to finish unpacking, leaving the two behind.

Dare sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's disturbing, isn't it?" He asked, glancing at Silver.

"Yeah…" She muttered, watching Clover unloading the packs while humming. "Is she...a slave?"

He nodded silently, running a hand over his head, frowning as his fingers came into contact with his mohawk. "Wadsworth, can you cut my hair, please?"

"Oh, I thought you'd never ask, Master!" The floating robot said happily, hovering over to him. "Let's get that dead rat off of your head!"

Dare sat at the table and closed his eyes. He didn't see any sort of clippers on Wadsworth, so whatever the robot was doing to cut his hair, was something he didn't want to see.

His hair shaved, the sniper thanked his butler and got Clover's attention. "Clover, the room right next to the stairs is yours. You should get some sleep." It wasn't worded like an order, though the slave acted as if it were.

"Okay, lover. If you need anything," She ran her fingers down his cheek, over the skin of his throat and rested it on his chest, her intent pretty clear. " _Anything_ at all, just say the word."

Clover winked at him and stepped up the stairs with a little swing to her hips, leaving the two behind.

Dare filled a pot with water and set it on the stove to heat, removing the blue reinforced jacket from his torso and setting it aside. Turning to face Silver, he leaned against the stove and sighed. "Clover was one of the personal slaves to the leader of Paradise Falls," He began slowly, "She and another woman. I had come prepared to buy any number of slaves to keep them out of harm's way, and the only one he offered to sell was Clover. He told me she's 'crazy in love with whoever holds her leash', his words, and I thought it would be a good idea to have some backup if things went down, so I bought her from him."

Silver frowned in concern. "So, that whole 'lover' thing she does is genuine?"

He shrugged. "As far as I can tell, she's obsessed with whoever her master is. The leader broke her completely; she's so devoted that she'd kneecap herself if it made her master happy."

"That's horrible." The blonde woman whispered, looking horrified. "What are you going to do with her?"

Dare gave her a helpless grimace. "I don't know. I'm not going to sell her to anyone else, or set her free, she'd latch onto the first person she'd see and be back at square one. I guess...I'll let her stay here and see if I can't break the conditioning on her. I can't say how successful that would be, though." He turned back to the stove and turned it off, taking a rag and starting to wash his face.

Silver sat back in her chair, quietly contemplating the new situation. "Whatever you do, it can't be worse than her old life." She shuddered, not even wanting to think of it.

"Yeah…" He dropped the rag and turned to her, pulling her up and into his arms. Somewhat startled, she hugged him as Dare exhaled deeply. "I...am really tired. Today has not been easy."

Silver smiled up at him, leaning up and gently pressing her lips to his. "Tomorrow will be better, Dare. Let's go to bed."

He put his arm around her and leaned on her while they went up the steps, closing the door on the night, and that chapter of their lives.

…

The night hadn't been easy for Dare. Guilt invaded his dreams, twisting and turning them to nightmares, visions of the men and women he knew being tortured and murdered plaguing his sleep.

Eventually, they too faded, leaving a black, empty well. No dreams, no nightmares, just darkness.

Dare awoke with a soft grunt, blinking groggily in the dim sunlight that managed to slip through the thinnest cracks in the roof. Glancing down, he found Silver lying on his chest, her silver-blonde hair splayed over his skin while light snores issued from her lips.

Gently stroking her back, the sniper sighed and gazed up at the ceiling, his thoughts drifting back to the day before. While he had not saved all those he wanted (which he realized was impossible from the get-go), he had saved many from a continuing life of slavery. So, while he was not happy, he was content.

However, something Eulogy had said stuck with him. Whoever had sold off Carter, Frank and his mother's gun hadn't stopped there. They had gone to a 'pit', and what that meant exactly escaped Dare's understanding. But he had a new target, and, thankfully, his mother's gun to help him.

And that train of thought led him to his Mother's gun. Dare doubted whoever had taken the pistol off of him had taken proper care of it.

Softly kissing Silver's temple, Dare slipped out of her warm grasp and tucked the blankets around her before padding from the room and down the steps. Wadsworth hovered around the stove, cleaning it, and he passed the robotic butler and took a seat at his workbench.

He reached for the red-striped pistol and froze as his eyes locked onto the revolver that sat where _his_ revolver had been. Cautiously picking the weapon up, he noticed several things. It was chambered for .44 rounds, and it looked both somewhat ornate and brand new. The silver finish shone when it caught the light just right, and the metal had small, detailed carvings all along it. The grip was an off-white color with gold screws, and stamped on it in the same color was a single word.

 **JUSTICE**

Frowning, Dare flipped the chamber open, finding it fully loaded with .44 magnum rounds, which also looked new. The few boxes of .357 ammo he had bought and scavenged had been multiplied and swapped out with .44. Even the spent shell casings he had gathered had changed caliber.

The revolver was not the only thing to change, either. The worn, battered box of cigarettes were brand new, and he could see the brand name.

 _Mysterious Smokes- The Strange Brand for the Strange Man._

Flipping the top open, Dare saw that it was full of equally fresh smokes, and the lighter he had taken from the corpse of Eulogy Jones now bore the initials 'SM' in curly letters.

"Wadsworth?" Dare turned and drew the bot's attention. "Did anyone come in here last night?"

"Of course not, sir!" Wadsworth replied with an offended tone. "Had any rapscallion intruded the previous nightfall, I would've roasted them where they stood! And then awoken you, Master."

Nodding, the sniper narrowed his eyes as a thought occurred to him. "Has this gun always looked like this?" He asked carefully, pointing at the revolver.

The butler bobbed in what equated to a nod. "Yes indeed, sir. I have wondered where you acquired such a lovely looking weapon."

Spinning the chamber, Dare snapped it closed with a flick of his wrist. "It was a gift," He mused, mostly to himself. "From a Stranger."

Shaking his head and vowing to look into it, the sniper set the revolver-Justice-aside and set his mother's pistol...his pistol on the bench, fondly rubbing his thumb over the initials on the bottom of the grip.

R.E. His mother's initials, as well as the same for the gun's name, which was called 'Red Empress'. Rachel Elizabeth had cobbled the weapon together from gathered bits and pieces, like the most comfortable grip, the smoothest slide and so on. She had done something to the barrel, which when shot, carved the bullets in such a way that they became barbed and tore through flesh, leaving ragged, bleeding wounds behind. She had never properly explained how that came to be, and looking at the barrel itself showed nothing strange.

Dare smiled to himself as he disassembled the weapon. Surprisingly, it was in very good shape despite being in the hands of some who most likely hadn't given it the proper care. The firing pin was a little dirty and a section of the grip was worn, but it was otherwise fine.

Reassembling the piece, he slid a fresh clip home and jacked a round into the chamber, smiling at the smoothness of the action and the comforting feeling of holding the weapon once more. It took 10mm ammo, which was the most common caliber you could find anywhere in the Wasteland, exactly as his mother had designed it. Efficient, useful and deadly in the right hands.

His mother had been a Ranger, and was one of the few who took the name literally. She had ranged from her home all the way to the California, the home of the NCR, and eventually ended up in the Ruins of Seattle and met his father there.

As a Ranger, she had held Survival and Efficiency above all else, and was responsible for teaching Dare all the little tricks he had employed all his life, like stealth, scavenging and maintaining his equipment. To be fair, his NCR father had also beaten the importance of maintenance into his head. Both had lived and died by their guns, so it was only natural.

Spinning Red Empress around on his finger, Dare tried to judge what the time was by the meager sunlight that infiltrated the house. He had plenty of things to bring to Moira, and while he was searching for the 'pit', he might as well help the eccentric shopkeeper out.

"Wadsworth, what time is it?"

The robo-butler hummed for a second before answering. "Eight o'clock on the dot, sir! Would you like breakfast?"

The sniper nodded, tilting his head as the sounds of light impacts reached his ears. "Better make that breakfast for three. Sounds like the girls are getting up."

"Breakfast coming up!" Wadsworth announced cheerfully, moving about the kitchen.

While he was waiting, Dare sorted through the packs of loot. He stored the Nuka-Cola in the fridge (which was taking up quite a bit of space), and set aside the weapons and armor. Those would be sold to Moira, the medical supplies he felt he could afford to sell would be sold to Doc Church. Some of the alcohol would be kept around, as would the food.

The bobble head of the Vault-Boy standing at a podium was set in the stand.

Eulogy's lock-box, once the lock had been picked, contained close to seven thousand caps. Dare would divide them into equals piles to be given to the former slaves, to help them in their new life. He had recovered plenty of money from the slaver's 'clinic' and gunshop, so it was not a problem for him to give the caps away.

All-in-all, Paradise Falls held a bounty, not to mention that it could be re-settled. It would need cleaning and some rebuilding, but the area was fortified and easily defensible. It was something to bring up with Simms.

…

After breakfast, which was made a little awkward by Clover attempting to sit Dare's lap and feed him, the sniper stepped out of his house and stopped by the small eatery. "Excuse me, do you know where Simms is?" He asked Jenny Stahl.

The brunette pointed at the communal quarters. "He went up there to see those slaves you freed. You know, that was a good thing you did. Actually, it seems like since you've been here that goods thing have been happening more and more often." She mused, almost to herself. "And it's almost always because of something you did. It's not much, but I'll give you a discount on everything when you come by, okay?"

Dare smiled at her and nodded thankfully. "I appreciate it."

She returned the gesture and went back to wiping down the bar as the sniper made his way up the ramp. Entering the communal quarters, Dare found the Sheriff talking to the former slaves, with the exception of the single ghoul. _Miss Jeanette, if I recall correctly._

"Ah, Dare." Simms spoke up, seeing him enter the room. "Mornin'. Need something?"

He held up a bag, which held the small pouches containing the caps. "I have something for everyone, actually." He started passing the pouches out, making sure every slave received one. "I looted a bunch of caps from Paradise Falls, and these are the ones I found in Eulogy Jones' quarters. It's not much, but it should help you get on your feet."

As the former slaves looked at the amount they received, Dare turned to the surprised Simms. "I also wanted to talk to you about resettling Paradise Falls." At the look he received, he explained. "The area itself is fortified and defensible, and there are plenty of livable buildings. It would need cleaning, yes, but it would be a very good place for a settlement."

"Hm." Lucas hummed, scratching at his beard. "I understand where you're coming from, but the place has a bad reputation."

"True," Dare acquiesced, "but all the slavers are dead. Leaving it alone would just allow unknown elements to move in and set-up shop, maybe even another band of slavers. Settling it could turn its' reputation around. Also, it could serve as an ambush point. Before word spreads, slavers and raider packs would come by to buy or sell. With the right people, Paradise Falls could be used to eliminate a good many of them."

As he explained, a small smile curled Simms' lips, growing to a full-blown grin as Dare finished. "Son, I like the way you think." He threw his arm around the sniper's shoulder spoke under his breath. "Listen, you know I've been watching you carefully since you came here. I've seen what you've done, all the good things, and I've come to a decision."

He shook Dare's hand, slipping him a folded note. "Read this, and follow the coordinates. I can't tell you anything much, only that it's a place that would welcome you with open arms."

Dare nodded and pocketed the paper, remembering the last pouch he carried. "Do you know where Miss Jeanette went?"

Simms nodded, patting his shoulder. "Apparently she know's Gob, and she's over at the Saloon talking to him." He backed away and turned back to the now-happy former slaves. "Keep up the good work, Son."

Dare nodded in acknowledgement and left the building, heading for the Saloon. Upon entering the establishment, the sniper found Gob enthusiastically chatting with Jeanette, giving her a friendly side-hug. "Hey, you two."

The ghoulish bartender, upon recognizing the voice, stood from his seat and wrapped Dare up in a strong, if squishy, hug. "My friend, am I glad to see you! Thank you for freeing my sister!"

Dare blinked and stepped back, looking between the two. "You're related?" He couldn't help but ask. Beyond them both being ghouls, they didn't look all that similar.

"Well, not by blood, no." Gob clarified. "But basically, yeah."

"Oh." The sniper said, before holding out the pouch. "Here. I divided up the caps I took from the leader, and I've got your share right here."

Jeanette opened the pouch, her jaw falling open. "This is...this is a lot of money." She whispered in awe. "Are you sure this is the right amount?"

Dare nodded. "Yup. Divided it up among all the former slaves. It should help you get on your feet."

Gob peered into the pouch, his eyes going wide. "Buy a new pair of feet, I think you mean." He muttered to himself.

The moment was broken by Moriarty's voice coming from the back room. "Oi, Gob! Quit chattin' with your freaky friend and get back to work!"

The bartender growled to himself and stepped around the counter. "Sorry Jeanette, I've got to get back to cleaning or Moriarty'll smack me around again." He said ruefully, grabbing a rag from under the counter.

Jeanette frowned unhappily, watching her brother clean. "Why don't you just leave, Gobbie?" She asked sadly.

He shrugged and sighed. "I went out lookin' for you fifteen years ago and I got caught by slavers. That old bastard bought me off of them and I've been working my debt off ever since. He even charges me room and board, so I still owe him."

The girl ghoul set her pouch on the counter. "Gobbie, I have money now, I can pay him off and we can go back to Underworld. How much do you owe him?" She asked curiously.

"You can't do that, Jeannie. You just got freed." Gob denied.

The woman narrowed her eyes on her brother. "I can and I will, Gob. How much?" She questioned firmly.

Sighing, the bartender runs a hand over his face. "Six hundred caps."

Opening her new pouch, Jeanette poured the right amount of caps and pushed it over to Gob. "There."

Hesitating, Gob eventually piled the money into a small box and put a lid on it. He took a deep breath before spinning around on his heel and marching into the back. "Moriarty, you fat prick! Here's your damn money!" He yelled, the sounds of an impact and several metals clinks telling that he had thrown the caps at Moriarty. Possibly his head.

Silently, Dare took the pouch away from Jeanette and poured a steady stream of metal currency into it from his moneybag, before shutting it and giving it back. "I got a lot of salvage from Paradise Falls." He said simply, looking up as Gob left the back room, slamming the door behind him.

"Now would be a good time to leave." He said quickly, grabbing a few things from under the counter and then striding around it, nodding to Nova as he went. Dare left with the ghoulish duo, walking with them to Megaton's entrance. "Well, we're heading back to Underworld. It'll be good to be home after so long."

"Do you guys need an escort?" Dare asked curiously. "I know Super Mutants run rampant over Downtown DC."

"Nah," Gob waved him off. "the muties don't bother ghouls usually. They ignore us for the most part, so we should be fine. Thanks, though. And thank you for being my friend, Dare. If you ever find yourself near the Museum of History, stop in Underworld and visit, buddy."

Dare shook the ghoul's hand firmly. "I will. Take care." He wished them well, and watched as the pair of ghouls set off towards Downtown DC. Shaking his head at the events that just seemed to happen around him, the sniper headed to his house and gathered his salvage, getting Clover to help him carry it all.

The white-haired woman received her share of strange looks as they walked, as she was still wearing her blood-spattered Metal Armor. Moira was messing with some sort of machine at the counter while the merc, as always, leaned against a wall.

"Oh hey, Dare!" The eccentric red-head greeted him with a bright smile.

"Morning, Moira." He replied, setting his pack down, turning to Clover. "Just set the rest down and you can go back home, okay?"

Clover shrugged and put the rest of the salvage on the counter. "Whatever you say, lover."

 _And that's still weird._ Dare thought as the former slave left the shop. "Well, I have quite a bit for you today, Moira. I think you'll like what I've got."

Moira began to sort through the items, muttering prices under her breath as she moved through the small stacks. Finishing, she blew out a short breath. "Well, it's a good thing that caravan is coming through in a couple days, or I'd be wiped out!" She said with a chuckle. "Anyway, it all looks good. Let me get me caps!"

While she ducked behind her counter, the sniper noticed the Vault 101 jumpsuit hung on the wall behind her. It was reinforced with leather armor and a little worn, but looked fine. And that reminded him of something else. "Oh, right. I have something I know you'll enjoy." He retrieved the Vault 77 jumpsuit from his pack and held it up for her to see.

"An authentic Vault jumpsuit!" Moira gasped, hesitantly reaching out and taking the jumpsuit from Dare, examining it from every angle. "I've never heard of Vault 77, though."

"I'd guess one of the slavers took it off some unfortunate soul from there." Dare said with a shrug.

The eccentric shopkeep set the jumpsuit down on the counter, running her fingers over the fabric. "How much do you want for this?" She asked curiously, glancing up at Dare.

The sniper shook his head, taking the pile of caps for the salvage. "Nothing. It's a gift for you. I know you like Vaults and that kind of thing, and I don't have any use for it, so I'm giving it to you." He explained simply.

Moira smiled happily, tucking the clothing under the counter. "Thank you, Dare. It means a lot to me."

He gave her a small smile. "No problem, Moira."

…

The next day, Dare sat on top of the gate to Megaton, leaning back in a chair with his hat tilted down over his eyes, his sniper rifle leaning against the railing. Simms had asked him to take watch as Stockholm-that was the human guard's name-had something important to do nearby. Having nothing better to do, Dare took the offer and had thus been watching the area, occasionally scanning it with a pair of battered binoculars.

Popping a piece of gum in his mouth, the sniper cleaned the lenses with his sleeve and looked through them, quirking an eyebrow at the small band of Raiders moving through what had once been a small town called Springvale. They had skirted around Megaton and were headed for the new Trading Outpost in Springvale Elementary, apparently to pillage it.

Clicking his tongue, Dare pushed his seat aside and lay down, peering the scope of his sniper. Sighting on the closest Raider's head, he closed his eyes and let the cold logic of his Sniper's Mind roll over him.

Opening his eyes, he peered through the scope, calculations flying through his mind. Waiting a second longer, the raider took a step sideways and lined up with another bandit, and he pulled the trigger. Quickly adjusting, he calculated the second shot and fired, then did so again, aiming at the last Raider's head.

For the small band, it was like lightning struck from the cloudless sky. In the back, one man's head exploded while the woman walking next to him just crumpled. Not even a second later, one raider jumped in surprise, the bullet that was aimed at his forehead missing and passing straight through his eye.

The last barely had the time to turn around before the .308 special impacted into his bare chest, hurling him off of his feet.

 _Four kills in three seconds._ Dare nodded to himself, sitting up and ejecting the clip from his sniper. _Not bad._

Reloading, he grabbed the spent shells and stored them away, ignoring the light throb in his head. _I still need to see if it will work with smaller arms again._

A few hours later, the sun had reached its peak and was beginning to descend, and Dare was given the chance to test his SM out. A trio of mole rats attacked Deputy Weld, and while the protectron could defend itself, the sniper still pulled Red Empress from his holster and let his Sniper's Mind wash through his brain.

Time slowed to a crawl, but unlike before where his actions were automatic, Dare could control himself. He examined the mole rats, marking their weaknesses. Focusing, he let his body move and it brought the gun to bear, putting one round into the base of a rat's skull, another through an eye, and the last through the fleshy neck of the last.

Time returned to it's normal pace, and the three mole rats dropped to the ground, dead.

Satisfied, Dare sat down on his chair and kicked his feet up, sipping a bottle of Nuka-Cola.

…

While scavenging, Dare noticed that there was an encampment of some sort sitting near the broken end of a freeway on-ramp with one path leading up to it, like Arefu. Peering through the scope of his sniper, he was surprised to find that it was occupied by ten raiders, one with a sniper scanning the horizon from the edge, thankfully in the opposite direction of Dare's approach.

Scanning the encampment, he noticed that one of the raiders, who looked to be the leader, carried around a flamer, the tank standing out on his back. Quickly formulating a plan, he took aim and shot, taking out the knee of the sniper, who tumbled from her perch with a loud scream, drawing the attention of the other Raiders, who moved to the edge and peered over it.

Kneeling for stability, he switched his aim to the sentry at the ramp and killed him with a headshot. Dare swung around and took aim at the raider with the flamer and fired.

The bullet bounced off the tank, and ricochet off the metal while leaving a small hole, causing the raider to lurch forward but otherwise be unharmed. He spun around with the flamer out, pointing into the encampment, shouting something.

Dare waited for a few seconds, then fired once more, hitting the tank again.

Despite the small size of the tank, the explosion was pretty sizable, causing Raiders to go flying in every direction. It even lit a pair of old, stacked cars on fire, and within three seconds, breached the reactors.

A mushroom cloud rose over the ramp, causing Dare to arch an eyebrow in surprise. Loud creaking rang through the air as the section of freeway gave away and collapsed to the ground, a mixed plume of dust, rubble and smoke rising into the air.

"Whoops." He hadn't meant to do that. And it was probable that whatever equipment the Raiders may have had on them was ruined.

After scavenging the remains of the camp, finding nothing much except for a few bottles of alcohol and a laser pistol in pretty good condition, Dare headed back to Megaton, pausing his approach when noticing the Brahmin caravan outside the entrance, along with a pair of Power Armor wearing soldiers, both bearing the Cogs, Wings and Sword of the Brotherhood of Steel.

They silently stared at him from behind thin, tinted visors, one casually carrying a minigun while the other had what looked like a Laser Pistol, though bigger, longer and stronger. A Laser Rifle.

 _Huh._ Dare thought before striding past them and into the town proper. He entered his home to find Silver sitting at the table with her head in her hands, staring at a pack with a troubled look on her face, looking up when he came into the room. "Dare!"

"What's wrong, Silver?" He asked immediately.

Silver closed her mouth, nervously playing with her hands. "Well, while you were gone...I went to see Moira about something, and there were these Brotherhood members inside with a robed one, a Scribe. They had come to see Moira about a terminal they had found that they couldn't unlock...I offered to help and had it open in two minutes."

Silently, the sniper stared at her, wondering why she was so nervous.

She brushed a lock of silver-blonde hair behind her ear and swallowed audibly. "Well, the Scribe was so impressed with my skill, she...she offered to take me on as an Apprentice Scribe." She finished quietly.

"You would have to leave." Dare said solemnly.

Nodding, Silver bit her lip as moisture gathered at the bottom of her eyes. "I would. I-I want to go with them, and be helpful and useful for once in my life….but at the same time...I don't want to leave you, Dare." She confessed, her voice shaking. "You helped me kick my addiction, and you took me and treated me like...like a woman and a lover, but...I don't know what to do…"

Sighing, Dare brought the woman in and hugged her tightly. "Silver...would going with the Brotherhood and becoming a Scribe...would that make you happy?" He asked quietly.

She nodded against his chest, slowly wrapping her trembling arms around him.

"Then that's what you should do." He stated firmly. "You have to do what makes you happy, Silver. You'll be able to use your skills, you'll be protected and respected…I don't see why you shouldn't go."

Pulling back, she peered up at him with sad grey eyes. "But what about you, Dare?"

Dare shrugged simply. "I'm just a sniper, Silver."

Silver sniffled and lightly shoved his chest. "You're not 'just' anything, Dare. You saved me. Gave me a home. Helped me feel better about myself. I can't just leave without repaying you."

Dare took her by the shoulders and stared seriously into her eyes. "The best way you could ever repay me is by living a full, happy life. That is all I ask."

The blonde woman gave him a watery smile, wiping the tears away from her cheeks, chuckling slightly. "Alright, I will. I promise." She reached up and pulled him down, tenderly kissing his lips.

Dare hugged her body to his, running his hand through her shining hair one more time, pouring all of his feelings through the kiss.

When they separated, Silver took her back and put it on, walking past him and stopping at the door. "You know…" She started quietly. "If you ask me to, I'll stay."

The sniper released a deep sigh, smiling sadly. "I know."

Silver returned the gesture and turned the knob. "If you're ever nearby...come see me, okay?" She asked gently.

"I will." Dare replied with a nod.

Silver left, the door slowly swinging shut behind her, closing with a final, solemn click.

Closing his eyes, Dare pinched the bridge of his nose, ignoring how empty his house suddenly felt. He sighed deeply, sitting in a chair, cradling his head in his hands.

A soft, warm hand touched his back, and Clover stood quietly by his side. "Lover?" She murmured, "You know I'll always be with you…right?"

Sniffing, the sniper slid his arm around Clover's waist, softly pulling her against his side. "Yeah, Clover…I know. Thanks."

…

 **One Week Later…**

Dare sat at the far end of the counter at Moriarty's after ordering a drink from the new bartender, Rory. He sipped the burning liquid silently, playing with a cap as the sounds of mingled conversation filled his ears.

It all went silent when the door open, admitting a man into the Saloon. This man looked nothing like the Wastelanders, wearing a yellow-trimmed, worn blue jumpsuit with a .32 revolver on his hip, his salt-and-pepper hair and beard adding an experienced quality to his handsome face. His eyes briefly met Dare's before locking onto Moriarty's, and the man moved forward. "Colin, I need to talk to you!"

Moriarty narrowed his eyes on the man, before gaining a surprised look. "James? I haven't seen you in years, not since you and that brat of yours disappeared into that Vault of yours."

As James walked past, Dare glanced up and spied three yellow digits on his back-101. He sipped his drink quietly. _I have the feeling that things are going to get very interesting, very soon._

…

…

…

 **A/N: Whew, and that's the end of that chapter and the beginning arc of this story. Quiet a lot to cover, I know, so I'll dive right in:**

 **The Sniper's Mind has to have** _ **some**_ **drawbacks, I mean, come on. It is a brain mutation, after all, and Dare can't use it for too long or it'll start to kill him. It is basically VATS, but less 'pausing time' and more 'slowing it down', like the new VATS in Fallout 4. Except that it was my idea, thieves! Stop right there, criminal scum!**

 **Clover is pretty fucked up, when you think about, and that kind of conditioning is not something that can be dealt with in a couple of days. It would take years at most.**

 **Yes, those 'Mysterious Smokes' are quite Strange, aren't they? I'll not be explaining them for a long while, except for the fact that they do have restorative properties. Though I'm not saying how. Why? Because it's a mystery!**

 **See, that's what I meant by a 'gun of light' in the last chapter. If you want a good idea of what 'Justice' looks like, it's the Mysterious Magnum from Fallout: New Vegas without the pearl-handled grip. It too is a mystery.**

 **Dare's Mom's gun, Red Empress has a pretty humorous backstory to it, but that will be told later. And you also found out his Mom's name: Rachel Elizabeth, and that she was a Ranger when she was alive. There's a trend among Dare's family, in which both sides were pretty much badasses in their respective fields. More will be revealed as it goes on.**

 **In Fallout 3, Miss Jeanette did mention having a brother, but it went exactly nowhere in game. Here, she is Gob's 'sister'.**

 **Why is Dare giving away caps? Well, he's not a bastard, and as I said, he got a lot of salvage from Paradise Falls, and after all the jobs and things he's sold, he can afford to be generous.**

 **Now for the big thing, Silver: It has always been my intention for what went down, to go down. She didn't have much in-game, so I wanted to write a little character-arc for her, so I did. It was also done to free up some space for some other ladies to come into Dare's life, if you know what I'm saying.**

 **But yeah, mostly the character stuff.**

 **So, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and the stupidly long author's notes. If you liked it, why not leave a review? That would be nice, I'm just saying.**

 **Next chapter…Dare meets someone special.**

 **Stay Awesome.**

 **~Soleneus**

 **P.S.: No post-script this time. Made you look! Though I do have a twitter account if you want to talk and whatever. TheRealSoleneus**

 **Stay Awesome Some More.**

 **~still Soleneus**


	7. Leaving Vault 101

Dare subtly watched the man in the Vault 101 jumpsuit from the corner of his eye as he talked to Moriarty. Whatever they were conversing about, it seemed to be serious.

Finishing his drink, the sniper slid the caps across the counter to Rory. "I'm off." He said quietly, standing from his seat and stepping for the door. The bartender called out, "Later, Dare!" which was followed by a few others in the bar doing the same.

Waving, he stepped outside and stretched his neck, grunting quietly as his joints cracked. Looking skyward, he saw that the moon had begun to rise behind the clouds. Sighing, he walked towards his house, nodding to the old man who greeted him.

Entering, Dare found Wadsworth at the stove, the savory scent of dinner wafting into his nose. He also found Clover sitting at the weapon bench, carefully cleaning her sword with a look of concentration on her face. Smiling lightly, he quietly snuck up behind her before darting forward, wrapping his arms around her stomach and hugging her to himself. "Evening, Clover." He whispered in her ear, pressing a light kiss to her cheek.

The former slave quickly dropped her sword and spun around in his grasp, throwing her arms around his shoulders. "Lover!" She called happily, holding him tight. "I missed you!"

Chuckling to himself, Dare ran his hand down her back. "I was just gone for the day, Clover. I told you I would be back by this time tonight."

Pulling away, Clover pouted. "I know, lover, but I still missed you. When are you going to take me with you?" She asked unhappily.

"I'm just doing some light scavenging," He explained, "Scanning the area from a distance and sniping everything that looks dangerous. You would be bored, Clover."

"I could never be bored with you around, Lover." She said lovingly. "Promise you'll take me out with you soon?"

Nodding, Dare led her to the table as Wadsworth called out, "Dinner is served, Master!" As he took a seat, Clover immediately slid into his lap and grabbed a plate of food, ready to feed it to him.

He had made some progress when it came to helping Clover. She still deferred to him for almost everything, but she had learned that asking questions wouldn't lead to her getting a beating or worse. And she only called him 'Lover', and tried to give herself to him more than once, but they were steps.

In return, Dare had found himself relying on Clover. While her deference was disturbing, he had come to like the white-haired woman, and while he wouldn't sleep with her until he was sure she was doing it of her own volition and not programming, along with actually calling him by name, he didn't mind returning the many hugs and kisses she shared with him. And he insisted that if Clover would feed him, he would return the favor.

As Dare lifted a bit of Brahmin steak to her lips, ignoring the sensual way she was licking her pink lips, a short pair of raps came from his door. Arching an eyebrow in question, he gently slid Clover off of his lap, ignoring the oddly cute pout she made, and answered the door.

…

Watching the man with sniper rifle on his back leave, James furrowed his brow in question and turned to Moriarty, the calls still echoing in his ears. "Who was that man, Colin?" He asked curiously.

The older man snorted into his drink. "Oh, that righteous bastard?" He scoffed. "He's Megaton's own little savior, killer of slavers and freer of slaves. Calls himself 'Dare'."

"Dare?" James muttered, mostly to himself.

"I know, stupid name." Moriarty harrumphed, taking a puff of his cigarette. "Bet he's just as fake as it, down under."

James arched an eyebrow at the other man's sour tone and face. "You have a problem with him?"

Colin scoffed, blowing a cloud of smoke at the former Vault Dweller. "Yah, at it seems that I'm the only one who does, 'cept for Jericho. You want to know why?"

 _You'll probably tell me no matter what I answer._ James thought with an internal grimace. Outwardly, he nodded once.

"It's because this guy comes waltzing out of Wasteland, somehow finds the one guy who just came by for mysterious reasons, takes a job from him to blow up the Nuke, turns it around and tells Simms, disappears for a day and comes back with a few shiny new guns after somehow getting into Tenpenny Tower and killing the rich bastard it's named after and escaping without a scratch. And I'm the only one who seems to find this suspicious!" He said with a scowl. "Then he goes off to Paradise Falls and kills every Slaver there before freeing all the slaves. Not only that, he also took the loot he got and gave it to 'em, for nothing!"

 _Of course._ James thought acidly. _You would view someone being very generous as suspicious._ "That doesn't sound bad to me." He said with a confused look.

"Pffft, of course it wouldn't." Moriarty scoffed. "But that's the thing. Why in the hell is he being so generous, and hates slavers so much? It's probably because he used to be a Slaver and is trying to make up for it."

James finished his drink, and got down to why he had come to the Saloon in the first place, though the image of the man with the sniper rifle on his back stayed at the back of his mind.

…

Once he had gotten the information he wanted, James made to leave Megaton, but stopped upon catching sight of the house that was the home of Dare, the sniper. A niggling doubt ate at the back of his mind, the knowledge of just what his child was like, and how they would take his absence.

He sighed as he came to the conclusion that they would most likely find a way to leave the Vault, ending up in the Wasteland with no knowledge of the world.

James turned to that home and walked to the door, pausing before it. He couldn't exactly take Moriarty at his word; the man dealt in gossip and rumours and was greedy to a fault. But he had seemed genuinely put off by the tales of the man called 'Dare'.

Reaching out, he rapped twice on the door, and waited for an answer. The door swung open, letting James briefly see into a warmly lit house, spying a well-cared for Mr. Handy floating near a stove, the smell of cooking meat wafting into his nose, making his mouth water. Along with the robot, the walls and floors seemed to be clean, and he could barely make out a small table covered in weapons in various states of repair, before his vision was filled with the form of the man he had come to see.

He was taller than James by about three inches, with broad, muscled shoulders, one of which had a tattoo that the former Vault-Dweller couldn't make out. Dare was, overall, a big man with lean, hard muscles and features, with a blank, stony face that gave nothing away. If his face had all the expression of statue, his eyes were the exact opposite; a greenish-grey color that resembled some form of crystal, focused on James' eyes after briefly sweeping over his form.

James would bet the sniper had come up with at least three ways to kill him if he made any sort of wrong move in the two seconds it took for them to meet eyes.

"Yes?" Dare asked cautiously, and James nearly jumped at the sound. His voice was deep and rough, but contained elements of youth to it.

Shaking himself, James asked, "Could I have a moment of your time?"

Dare looked over him again, before nodding briefly and stepping back, gesturing for the man to come in. James stepped in the house, finding a white-haired woman giving him an irritated look.

"So, what can I help you with?" The sniper asked, taking a seat at the table.

James sat across from him, taking a deep breath. "I've heard stories about you from Moriarty, and I think you would understand if I find them…a bit fantastical."

Dare blinked wordlessly at him.

"Ahem. So, I was wondering if the tales about you; disarming the nuke, killing Tenpenny and attacking Paradise Falls; are they true?" He finally asked.

He wondered if the sniper would regale him with details of his exploits, the numerous enemies he had fought, or the-

"Yes." Dare answered simply, taking a sip from his Nuka-Cola.

James blinked in surprise. "Ah. Er, why, exactly?" At the questioning look, he expanded. "Well, not to cast aspersion on your character, but not everyone would do as you are said to have done. Why did you do it?"

The sniper peered at James over the table, giving the scientist a feeling that the man knew why he was asking. "Because it was the right thing to do." He said, making himself comfortable in his chair. "I was raised and trained to survive, but also to show compassion to those who deserve it. I may be a sniper, and a survivor, but I am not a bastard, sir."

That cinched it for James. The way the woman had flinched minutely at the mention of Paradise Falls, and had looked adoringly at Dare when he explained his reasons let James know that she was most likely a former slave, set free by the man beside her.

"Now I have a question for you." Dare spoke up, staring at him unflinchingly. "Why, exactly, are you asking me these questions?"

James sighed, licking his lips. "I left Vault 101 for very important reasons, which I can't exactly go into. But I left my child behind, because I knew she'd be able to take care of herself inside the Vault, but if I know my daughter as well as I do, then she will find her way outside into the Wasteland. That's why I was asking you all these questions. She'll be out in a new, harsher world, and she'll need someone to help her. That's where you come in." He finished, gesturing at Dare.

"You want me to take care of your daughter?" The sniper clarified, his brow rising slightly.

"Exactly." The scientist replied bluntly. "She'll need guidance, and if events play out as I think, protection as well. If it's a question of payment-"

"It's not." Dare interjected, looking vaguely insulted. "What I mean is, why don't you just wait here and meet her when she steps outside?"

James shrugged vaguely, not having an adequate answer. "There's something I need to do, and honestly…I don't really think I can face her so soon." He replied with a small, self-deprecating smirk.

The sniper arched an eyebrow in what looked like amusement. "Running away won't solve anything." He said simply.

"I know." James shrugged again. "But there's something I need to do."

He stood and made to leave, stopping at the door and turning around as Dare called out. "This daughter of yours; what's her name?"

James looked back, his thoughts filled with visions of a strong-willed girl, her sharp green eyes, so much like her mother's, staring up at him. "Her name is-"

…

Katherine Madison Greene, or 'Katie' as everyone who didn't want a mouthful of their own teeth called her, was not having the best day. _And to think, last night was normal._ She thought almost wistfully, swinging her baseball bat into a leaping radroach, sending it flying into a nearby wall with a loud crunch. _And this shit isn't normal at all._

Some background would probably help: She was born in Vault 101-as far as she knew-named after her mother, Catherine, and grew up to become best friends with Amata Almodovar, the daughter of the Overseer of Vault 101. Katie wasn't much like her father, with his dark brown hair and blue eyes and a love of Science and Medicine, not to mention the friendly Charisma he exuded.

Katie, on the other hand, had blonde hair that she usually kept pulled back into a simple ponytail, with dark green eyes and very little interest in Medicine or Science, not unless it pertained to getting into systems and locked rooms without authorization. Rather, she preferred to solve her problems with her fists and intimidation. A rather common joke among the 'Tunnel Snakes', a small gang of Vault Dwellers who dressed and acted like the typical Greaser stereotype, was that Katie pumped more iron than all of them combined, and that it was also a bad idea to pick on her or Amata.

Her GOAT (Generalized Occupational Aptitude Test) results had said she would end up as a Laundry Cannon Operator, which she thought would be pretty awesome, except that their laundry cannon was broken down. Instead, she had become a maintenance engineer, learning how to fix things. Of course, the eventually led to Katie fixing the laundry cannon, but it was only really need once or twice a month.

While life in the Vault wasn't as picturesque as the Overseer liked to make it out to be, Katie was content. Her days were spent fixing things with Stanley, the resident mechanic, hanging out with Amata, occasionally beating the shit out of Butch (the leader of the Tunnel Snakes) for hitting on them, and talking with her father over dinner, usually with her best friend.

Naturally, that meant something had to come along and fuck it all up.

It started that morning; well, 11:30, actually. Katie liked to sleep in. Anyway, she was woken from her rest by a panicked Amata, who frantically shook her awake and told her that her father (Katie's) had somehow managed to leave the Vault, and that her father (Amata's) had his men out looking for her. And that he had kind of gone crazy, but that was old news.

And then Amata, after being asked, had revealed that the Overseer's men had killed Jonas, her father's assistant in the Clinic, and that Katie needed to leave the Vault-and she had a plan. There was a secret tunnel from the Overseer's office that led to the Vault door, which Katie could access by hacking into the computer terminal in the office.

Amata had then offered her a .10mm pistol, which Katie took, just in case. After gathering a few things, like her baseball bat, her favorite issue of Grognak the Barbarian, and her red cap, she set off to get the hell out of Vault 101.

And almost immediately was found by Officer Kendall.

And then he was attacked by radroaches-large, vicious cockroaches that had been mutated by radiation, and while the man put up a pretty good fight, he fell when they sliced at his ankles with razor-sharp pincers and carved his throat open.

Katie had set on them with her baseball bat, but there was nothing she could do for the man. He had died right in front of her. Pushing her shock to the back of her mind, the blonde stripped the security armor from the body and put it on, leaving the blood-spattered helmet behind.

After making her way down one of the numerous halls, she was found by a panicked Butch, who pleaded with her to save his mother, who was trapped in their room with radroaches.

Katie was tempted to leave it be, but she didn't hate Butch, just his stupid hair. And that was where she found herself, defending the mother of her childhood bully from giant cockroaches.

She brought her bat down on top of roach, splattering its' insides on the floor, then wound up and swung it into another, sending it into a wall. Butch ran into the room, cheering. "We did it! I can't believe…you saved my mom! I can't tell ya how much that means to me." He pulled off his leather jacket and held it out to her. "Here, I want you to have this. I know I haven't been the nicest guy, and you still helped me."

Katie took the jacket and pondered for a little bit, before throwing it on over the armor. Every pit of protection helped.

She made for the atrium, running across Officer Gomez and Andy, a Mr. Handy, facing off against more roaches. After dealing with them, the older man turned to her with a serious visage. "Look, I don't know what's really going on, but you've always been a good kid." He stated seriously. "If anyone asks, I didn't see you, alright?"

Nodding in thanks, she moved into the clinic and gave Stanley a brief hug, before heading into her father's office. The terminal had ended up on the floor, and various notes and papers were scattered all over the desk, even the bobblehead of the Vault-Boy carrying an oversized needle had been upended.

Shaking away her nostalgia, Katie rifled through the desk, finding a few stimpaks and bottle caps, for some reason, storing them away in a small pack she had grabbed in the other room. _If the stories about the outside world are true, I'll need all the medicine I can get._ She thought, grabbing the bobblehead and stopping at the door to look at the framed text hanging on the wall.

It was a quote from some big book about giving thirsty people water freely; books had never really been an interest for her. She pulled at the frame, slipping the piece of paper out if and carefully stored it before leaving.

In the atrium, she came across Tom and Mary Holden, who were arguing about 'making like the doctor and leaving this hellhole'. Tom ran across the atrium and made for the exit, only to be cut down by a hail of bullets. Mary screamed in anguish and chased after him before Katie could stop her, meeting the same fate.

Katie watched in shock as her body fell to ground, lifeless. Rage blossomed in her chest and she gripped her bat tightly, peeking through the doorway only to draw back quickly as bullets whizzed through the air past her face, hearing two men calling out something.

Bracing herself, she sprinted across the door, something impacting into her shoulder as she ran, making her stumble and fall to the floor. She slid underneath a door and hit the close button before kicking the small console until sparked-whoever had shot at her wouldn't be following her from there.

Katie groaned, looking down at the security vest she wore, picking a flattened slug off the heavy-duty weave and dropping it to the floor. She rolled her shoulder with a light hiss; it would definitely bruise, but she would survive.

Making her way up, she cleared the roaches she came across another body, this time of another mechanic named Floyd, who had been savaged by the mutated creatures. Feeling even more sorrow welling up inside of her, Katie was taken by surprise when Security Chief Hannon came in through the far door and spotted her, yelling, "Stop in the name of the Overseer!"

Then he ran at her with his baton, clearly intending to kill her. Yelping, she fumbled for the pistol and pulled the trigger, making Hannon duck away from what ended being an empty click, as Katie hadn't switched the safety off.

Quickly reaching for the switch, she flipped it off as Hannon closed the distance and swung at her. Ducking under the blow, she aimed at his chest and pulled the trigger, and at that close of a range, she couldn't miss. The gun kicked in her hand, and the man stumbled back with a cry, clutching his chest in pain.

Katie brought the gun up and pulled the trigger again, making the man fall onto his back as she pumped three more rounds into his chest, making sure he wouldn't get back up. Staring down at the still man, she found that her mouth was dry and tears were threatening to spill from her eyes.

Wiping her face, she rifled through his pockets and grabbed a pair of clips, shakily reloading her pistol and securing it to her belt with a holster.

Making her past the dead body, the one she had made, Katie ducked as she heard voices coming from the Security Office. "Just tell him where you're little friend went, Amata." The Overseer's voice came through. "Officer Mack may enjoy this, but I don't."

"I swear, I don't know anything!" Amata yelled, clearly in tears. "I wouldn't tell you if I did! You killed Jonas!"

The Overseer sighed, before speaking again. "Hit her again, Officer Mack." He said resignedly.

Katie's eyes went wide in anger, opening the door and stepping in wielding her bat with an enraged snarl on her face. "I'm right here!" She roared as Mack spun around to face her, a pistol that he seemed to have been using to hit Amata with in his hand.

She brought her bat over head and swung down, the wood cracking against his arm and knocking the gun away. Katie swung again, this time at Mack's head.

With a wet thunk, the man pirouetted ungracefully and collapsed to the floor.

Katie dropped her bat and pulled her gun, pointing it at the Overseer. "I should kill you!" She shouted. "You killed Jonas! You tried to kill me!"

Waving his hands desperately, the older man tried to reason with her. "This is all just a big misunderstanding, I assure you. Officer Mack was out of control, and he will punished…" He shot a look at the bleeding man on the ground. "We can clear this all up, just hand over your weapons."

Katie narrowed her eyes on the Overseer, but was distracted by Amata shouting, "Katie, look out!"

Mack lunged at Katie from the ground, grabbing at her legs, while the Overseer rushed forward and grasped her gun, trying to pull it away. "Bring her down, Officer Mack!" He cried, pulling on the weapon.

A gunshot rang out and Mack fell still. Katie managed to get an arm free and punched the older man in the face, sending him back and bringing her gun to bear on him. Making sure her aim was steady, she looked back over her shoulder to find Amata holding the pistol she had knocked away from Mack, pointing it at the ground and staring at the bloody hole in the back of the Officer's head.

Katie wasn't the only one to notice, and the Overseer spoke up, his tone one of shock. "Amata…you killed him…"

His voice seemed to snap her out of her shock, and she whipped her head up to look at him, followed by aiming her gun at him. "Get-get in the cell!" She barked, her voice just as shaky her arm.

Shaking his head, the Overseer scowled at her. "Now see here, Amata, I won't just-"

Katie grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and unceremoniously tossed him into the open cell, slamming the door shut by kicking the switch. He stared at her out of the small window accusingly, but she ignored him for his daughter, who was staring at the floor. "Amata?"

The young woman jumped in shock, dropping the pistol to the floor. The clatter of metal on metal seemed to be a trigger for her, as Amata turned ran from the room.

Katie sighed, rubbing her face with a gloved hand, feeling the weight of her decisions and actions pressing down on her. Sniffing, she took a key from Mack's corpse and used it to open the lockers. She found a few more clips of ammo and a spare set of Security Armor and baton, taking the lot and leaving the room, following the sound of muffled sobs to the Overseer's room, where she found her best friend curled up on the bed.

"Amata…" She murmured, setting the stuff aside.

Amata looked up from her spot, her eyes red with tears rolling down her cheeks. "I killed someone…" She whispered brokenly. "I didn't like him, at all, but I saw him grabbing at you and the gun was in my hand…"

Katie grasped Amata's shoulders and enfolded her in a tight hug. Amata wrapped her arms around her and sobbed into her shoulder. The blond Vault-Dweller let her own tears flow as they hugged each other and cried; for the both the situation they found themselves in, and for their lost innocence.

"I saw Officer Kendall get killed by roaches," Katie whispered, sniffling. "And Tom and Mary Holden were gunned down in the atrium...And I killed Hannon."

"Oh, Katie." Amata mumbled, her face pale and drawn. "What are we going to do? We killed people…and threw my father in a cell…"

Wiping her face, the blonde withdrew from her friend and pulled her up. "We can't stay here," She said firmly, grabbing the Security Armor and presenting it. "We have to get out of here, and…and find my dad."

Katie helped Amata pull the armor on and secure the helmet to her head, handing the pistol and the baton. Together, the two of them made for the Overseer's office, stopping when they came across the still, bloody form of Jonas, his glasses broken on the floor and his lab coat stained with red.

Stifling the noise that wanted to come from her mouth, Katie gently closed his eyes and adjusted him so that he rested in a peaceful fashion. As she did so, a small tape fell from his pocket, clattering against the floor. Carefully picking it up, she found it was labeled with 'For Katie'. Storing it away, they made their to the Overseer's office, unlocking it with the keys.

Katie moved to the terminal and booted it up; since she was without the password, she had to access the administrator area, which would present a screen full of code with the password hidden in the wall of randomly generated text, numbers and brackets. If the wrong code was chosen four times, the terminal would lock itself and only accept the code if it was typed in.

As she searched through the lines of text, Amata glanced around the office, noticing a picture of herself as child and her father on a shelf. Snorting softly in disgust, she flipped it over and moved to the locker, opening it with the key to the office. Inside, she found a small box of some sort of candy called 'Mentats', a box of bullets for a .10mm, and a note taped to the inside that read: Password: Amata.

Pulling it from the locker, along with the other things, she passed it to her friend. Katie quickly located the password and entered it. Finding a command to open the hidden tunnel, she paused on noticing the 'Reports' page. Hesitating, the blonde quickly hooked her Pip-Boy up to the terminal and copied the files to her wrist-mounted computer, before opening the secret entrance.

They stepped back as the desk was lifted into the air, and a section of the floor slid back to reveal a staircase descending down. Stepping down, they passed through a few rooms before coming to a blank stretch of wall with a switch next to it. Flipping it, the wall slid away and allowed them access to the Vault entrance.

Katie and Amata stared in awe at the giant cog that made up the door to Vault 101. Spying an operating board, Katie flicked one of two small switches and pulled down on the lever, an alarm sounding out as she did.

A yellow light shone as the large moved up, some sort of rod extending out and interfacing with the door. With a loud shriek of metal and a swift rush of air, the Vault door was drawn back and rolled to the side, allowing them to look outside of the Vault for the first time.

It wasn't much, just a dim, grimy cave with light shining through the slats of a wooden door at the far end.

Katie stepped through the door in awe, jumping back as bones crunched under her feet. Looking down, she found skeletons lying scattered near the vault door, with dilapidated signs lying next to them, the faint letters of their pleas for salvation still visible.

Amata stopped just inside the door, her face pale. "I should stay." She whispered quietly, looking down at the skeletal remains littering the ground. "I'm not cut out for the outside."

"What?" Katie said with alarm, spinning back to face her friend. "No! Amata, you have to come with me!"

"If anyone could survive out there, it would be you, Katie." Her best friend mumbled, refusing to meet her eyes. "I…would just hold you back."

Katie stepped forward and grabbed Amata's hands, bringing her attention to her pleading face. "Please, Amata…I can't do this alone." Tears began to spill out of her eyes. "I don't know what happened to my father, I-I killed someone and if I step outside without you, I'll have no one. I can't do this without my best friend."

"You don't need me." Amata whispered, clutching at her friend's hands. "You've never needed me."

"That's not true!" Katie protest hotly, gripping Amata tightly. "I've always needed you. Sure, I had my dad when I got into fights with Butch or when I cut my hand on a spring or something, but I had you right next to me kicking the Tunnel Snake's asses when they picked on us. Whatever is out there, I know we can face it. Together!"

Looking up at her begging eyes, Amata couldn't find it in herself to refuse, not after having her best friend, who she thought was so strong and tough, reduced to tears at the thought of facing the world without her. "...Okay." She agreed. "I'll go with you."

Relief flooded through Katie, who pulled Amata into a tight hug. A sudden shout from inside the Vault made them look up in panic as the Overseer, his face bloody from the punch he had taken, followed by two security guards.

Looping arms, the two young women turned and ran from the Vault, the shout from the Overseer echoing behind them as they headed for the light outside of the cave. Katie put her hand on the worn wooden door that separated them from the outside world, knowing that, if she stepped outside, she could never go back.

Bracing herself and tightening her arm around Amata, Katie Greene pushed the door open and stepped out into the D.C. Wasteland.

…

Dare sighed, using the air from the gesture to blow a bubble in his gum, which cracked quietly. Tilting his head back, he looked up at the sun and judged it to be a little after noon.

"Lover…" Clover whined the affectionate term out, sitting on a rock with her arms crossed grumpily over her chest. "When is this bitch going to come out? I'm boooored."

Leaning against a tall rock, the sniper leaned over and patted the pouting woman on the head, the only thing he could reach at. "I know, Clover. I promise, the next time we go out will be more interesting." _Which means violent._

The former slave pouted and huffed as Dare adjusted his hat, looking down at the worn wooden door that led to the giant, cog-like door of Vault 101. Both he and his companion were resting atop the small hill that hid the entrance to the Vault, and were very bored. Dare had the experience of laying in one place for hours on end for the right moment to fall back on, while Clover was not that lucky.

Because of Dare's actions in clearing the area around Megaton and in Springvale, the area had become somewhat safer. Most Raiders avoided the area entirely, telling each other stories of how their comrades had suddenly died right in front of them, like an invisible specter that haunted them as soon as they set foot in that place.

This only added to Clover's boredom, really, as the only thing that had bothered them was a bloatfly, which was quickly blown in two by a blast from both barrels of Clover's sawed-off shotgun. Then she cursed her boredom a minute later.

They sat up as a low screech echoed from the door below them, followed by something that sounded like shouting. A few seconds later, a pair of people burst through the door before staggering back, covering their faces with groans of pain. Once their eyesight had adjusted to the natural light, they gazed upon the Wastes with gasps of mixed shock and awe.

The sniper peered down at the two with a searching gaze, noting several features: Both were women-one was blonde and the other brunette. The blond wore black leather jacket with a snake curled into an 'S' on the back over a security vest, along with a red cap and small pack, carrying a baseball bat in one hand with a mint-condition .10mm pistol tucked into a holster on her hip. The other wore just the vest, along with a black helmet that had a thick, clear plastic shield over the face. She had a similar pistol and a baton tucked into her belt.

 _Well, the blonde matches the description James gave me._ Dare stood up, helping Clover to her feet, and adjusted the hunting rifle on his back before giving out a short whistle.

The two girls whipped around to face him, the blonde grabbing her pistol and bringing it to bear on him. _Their reaction speed was a little slow, her arm is shaky but her grip is firm, so she's probably fired it a couple of times before, likely today._ Dare noted mentally, before scanning over their faces. _Pale skin, bags under bloodshot eyes and slightly trembling lips. Trauma and tears, so it's most likely that they both killed their first person today._

Clover growled at the threatening gesture and made to grab her shotgun, but the sniper stopped her, raising a hand to the two girls. "Easy, there." He said quietly. "Which one of you is Katie?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes on him. "Why should we tell you anything?" She growled in response.

"Because, if neither of you are Katie Greene, then the note I have for her from her father will have no purpose." He replied calmly.

Katie stiffened as Amata glanced at her. "And why would he leave a note with you?" She asked carefully, keeping her gun trained on him.

Dare reached into a pouch and withdrew a folded piece of paper, tossing it onto the ground in front of the former Vault-Dwellers. "Why don't you read it instead?" He questioned. _Otherwise, we'll be here all day._

Katie made sure Amata kept her gun pointed at them before kneeling and grabbing the paper, carefully unfolding it to see her dad's clear, flowing script. Biting her lip, she quickly scanned over the message.

 _Katie-_

 _I know you must be scared and wondering why I left, and why the man who is carrying this message knows your name. His name is Dare, a hero of a local town called Megaton, and I hired him to take care of you, and teach you how to survive in the Wastes…if you leave the Vault, which I can only hope that you don't. But, if you do and you receive this note, I want you to know that I love you, and even though I might seem like the worst sort of father right now, I promise you that I have a good reason for doing what I did._

 _Love, Dad._

Trying to keep her face straight, Katie looked up at the man looking down at her. "Your name is Dare?" She asked, almost incredulously. "Seriously?"

The sniper's face twitched slightly. "Yes, seriously. Do you understand what was written?" He replied. _People aren't ever going to stop asking me that, are they?_

"My dad hired you to teach us to survive out in the-here, out here." She said, looking over the ruins of D.C. Amata, sensing that the atmosphere had stopped being hostile, slowly lowered her gun until it was pointed at the ground.

"Exactly." Dare answered, letting go of Clover's arm. "And I intend to do that."

Katie looked up at him sharply, narrowing her dark green eyes on him. "Why?" She asked simply.

The sniper arched an eyebrow at her. "As I told your father; I'm a survivor, but I'm not a bastard."

She traded looks with Amata, before looking back at Dare and the woman standing next to him. "Alright." Katie said quietly. "What do we do?"

A small smile flickered across Dare's stony face before disappearing quickly. "Right now, I think you guys need to rest. I can tell you've had a stressful day, and I've got a couple beds you can use. Just follow me." He directed calmly, waving Clover over to join him.

The two Wastelanders led the former Vault-Dwellers through the ruins of Springvale towards Megaton, the two women looking at the area around them in wonder, taking in the ruined buildings and dry, brown earth. They audibly gasped in surprise as they came to the entrance of Megaton, Dare waving to the sniper above the gate.

"Hey, Dare!" Stockholm called down, "Moira wanted me to tell you to come see her! Something about a book and some molerats?"

"Ah." Dare muttered, nodding in thanks, glancing over his shoulder and looking back at the two girls in thought.

He lead them to house, unlocking the door with a key. They stepped in with awed faces, barely noticing Wadsworth but finding their attention drawn to the table of guns next to a workbench, along with bits of leather and metal used to repair their armor. Next to that was a small bookshelf, one shelf holding a good amount of books in good condition, with the other having various magazines spread over it.

Dare pointed up stairs. "The room you can use is the first when you go up, the second one is mine and I don't think I have to say 'don't go in there without my permission'." He gestured to the table. "I'll get you outfitted once you gotten some knowledge about the world, and we'll be going out into the Wasteland to do some jobs for a friend of mine. Easy stuff at first."

"What about my dad?" Katie asked suddenly. "We need to find him."

The sniper nodded, but repeated, "Easy stuff at first." He turned to Clover, who was frowning at the two girls. "I'm going to see Moira. Would you mind staying here with them?"

Clover smiled lovingly at Dare, nodding happily. "Sure, Lover. Don't take too long."

He smiled briefly, before turning to leave.

Katie and Amata stepped up the stairs and entered what would become their room, finding it to be spartan with only a pair of mattress, a table and a locker. They collapsed on different beds and fell asleep quickly, only stopping to pull off their armor and lock the door.

It was barely one o'clock, but Katie Greene and Amata Almodovar had left Vault 101 and met with the sniper named Dare. It was a new chapter in the story of their lives.

…

…

…

…

 **A/N: Kept you waiting, huh?**

 **So yeah, that's chapter 7 of Dare to Wander, and now the title makes some more sense, right? It has been my intention since the beginning for A) The Lone Wanderer to be a female, B) for Amata to come with her and C) for Dare to teach both of them. Or give them guidance, really.**

 **I want them, Dare, Clover, Katie and Amata to become a squad of sorts, like the Fireteams from Mass Effect 3: a bunch of different people coming together, becoming comrades and friends (eventually) and taking jobs that no one else can. I was inspired by a piece of concept art for Fallout 4 that depicts A Brotherhood of Steel Paladin, the Sole Survivor and that one guy all in a firefight. It's pretty awesome looking.**

 **I kind of debated on what to call Katie, her last name, mostly, and it came between Greene and Freeman.**

 **Greene because of Project Purity, which is fresh water for everyone, and that would encourage plant growth, so like a revitalization of the D.C. Wastes. And an 'e' on the end, so people know we're being serious.**

 **And Freeman, because I read a Fallout story where the Lone Wanderer has that last name. I didn't like the story all that much, but it got me thinking about Fallout.**

 **I decided on Greene because it made more sense to me. And before you jackasses start telling me Chuck Greene's daughter from Dead Rising 2 has the same name, yeah, I fucking know. I'm very aware of what references I put in my own stories, thank you very much. Besides, that one is spelled "Katy" so meh.**

 **And I swear, if people keep saying I'm making a fucking Percy Jackson reference with Dare's mom, I'm going to back and change her damn name. I FUCKING know who Rachel Elizabeth Dare is, I read the fucking books. So shut up.**

 **Also, no, Katie and Amata aren't going to end up as lesbians, just to pop whatever bubbles you might have. They were going through an emotional, traumatizing time and they needed comfort from their bestie, that's it. Nothing I have against lesbians, just not this story.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Dare to Wander. Can't say when the next is coming, but it is.**

 **If you liked it, why not review and tell me how pretty I am? I mean, that's really why I'm writing chapters of text and keeping my identity hidden, so that people can see my face and tell how attractive I am.**

 **That was sarcasm, by the way.**

 **Stay Awesome.**

 **~Soleneus**

 **P.S.: I know some people will ask for this for some reason, but here are Dare's stats as a Fallout Character. No level, though.**

 _ **Dare-A.K.A ?**_

 _ **The Sniper**_

 _ **Special:**_

 _ **Strength: 8- What, you think carrying all that equipment around is easy?**_

 _ **Perception: 9- Kind of required, you know.**_

 _ **Endurance: 10- How do you think he's able to run around and lay in wait for so long?**_

 _ **Charisma: 5- Bullets, not words.**_

 _ **Intelligence: 9- All those equations aren't simple, you know, and neither is repairing guns.**_

 _ **Agility: 8- He's surprisingly sneaky for a tall fella.**_

 _ **Luck: 6- …Yeah, I got nothin'.**_

 _ **Skills:**_

 _ **Big Guns: 25- General knowledge, basically.**_

 _ **Small Guns: 95- Rifles and pistols are kind of his thing, you know.**_

 _ **Barter: 50- It's an important skill.**_

 _ **Energy Weapons: 15- Good old fashioned bullets for this guy.**_

 _ **Explosives: 70- He created homemade tripmines.**_

 _ **Lockpick: 75- Again, it's important.**_

 _ **Medicine: 50- If you don't know which part of the Stimpak you stick in yourself, you're going to die.**_

 _ **Melee Weapons: 25- Knives, mostly.**_

 _ **Repair: 95- Keep your guns clean and working, or I will shoot you.- A quote from Rachel Elizabeth, loving mother.**_

 _ **Science: 45- Eh.**_

 _ **Sneak: 85- Sneaky-sneaky snipey-snipey.**_

 _ **Speech: 70- People listen when the big guy with big gun talks.**_

 _ **Survival: 99- What did you expect with his background and heritage?**_

 _ **Unarmed: 75- Long distance is his thing, but he can hold his own in CQC.**_

 **And there you go, Dare's stats. Again, these are accumulated over his life span. Hope you weirdoes liked it, though I'm not doing Perks. I don't have that much time.**

 **Stay Awesome Some More.**

 **~still Soleneus**


	8. Wasteland Comprehension

By the time Katie and Amata woke the next day, Dare and Clover were already awake and sitting at the table. The former slave was eating breakfast while the sniper cleaned Justice, his gray eyes flicking up as they stumbled into the room zipping up their Vault 101 jumpsuits. He took a hand from his gun, reaching over and pushing two plates of food to their side of the table. "Eat up. We've got a lot to do today."

The two Vault-dwellers sat down, pausing as they looked at the food. It was well-cooked chunks of some red meat and greenish eggs, along with a small round of dense, crusty bread. "What is this?" Katie asked hesitantly, poking the meat with her fork.

"All you need to start the day right." Dare replied, chambering large bullets into the magnum. "Protein, starch and carbs. The meat is from mole rats, with mirelurk eggs and homemade bread."

Amata gave the meat a distasteful look, but speared a chunk and ate it, her eyes going wide in surprise. "This is actually pretty good." She commented, before swallowing and realizing she hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday and began wolfing down food.

"You bitches are lucky." Clover grumbled, kicking her feet up on a stool.

Katie, crumbs around her mouth, gave the former slave a questioning look. "Why?" She asked, her words slightly garbled.

Dare flicked his wrist, the click of the chamber closing making the girls jump. "Most people eat preserved Pre-War food, though many eat what they can kill, like mole rats, bloat flies, brahmin -if they're lucky- and the occasional mirelurk. Or, if they're really desparate, other people." Seeing the sick looks on their faces, the sniper sighed. "That's something you're going to have to get used to. The Wasteland is harsh and unforgiving; and to survive, you need to be too. There are psychos out there who will capture, kill you, cook you or rape you, and if you're lucky, they'll do it in that order."

Clover slumped quietly in her seat, staring at the floor with listless eyes, and Dare laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Almost everything out there will want to kill you. Not everyone, but you need to be cautious." He reached back, grabbing a couple of worn books off of a shelf, sliding them to the Vault Dwellers. "A friend of mine helped me compile a codex of creatures you'll find in the Wasteland. Study it carefully."

Not as hungry as they were before, the two girls picked at their food as they flipped through the books. Occasionally, one would ask a question, like, "What's a Deathclaw?"

"Deathclaws are one of the more terrifying creatures." Dare replied bluntly, giving them a serious look over his mother's pistol. "Large, horned and very, very fast; they're vicious and dangerous reptiles. They can take more than a few direct rockets hits, and their claws can shred metal armor like paper."

Katie gulped quietly, carefully turning the page. The house fell silent again, until they finished the books.

"So, when do we start?" Amata asked bravely, not really feeling all that brave.

"First, we need to get you clothes and weapons." Dare replied, standing from his chair and walking to a table covered in weapons and armor. "There's not a lot of blue out in the Wasteland, so you two will stick out like a sore thumb. Here are a few common items."

The two girls approached the table with wide eyes. Katie picked up an assault rifle, carefully examining the weapon. "What do we pick?" She asked, her dark green eyes flicking up to look at Dare.

"It depends on what combat role you're comfortable with." He said, patting his sniper rifle. "In my case, I'm a sniper. I prefer long-range engagements, using precision and accuracy to kill my targets quickly and efficiently; or, I'll put a silencer on my pistol and use my knife to kill quietly. To that effect, I wear metal-reinforced leather armor, which is light but can take some damage."

He nodded to Clover. "Clover, on the other hand, likes to be up close and personal, so she uses a shotgun, her sword or a super sledge and carries a pistol as a back-up, while wearing metal armor, which is heavy but can take quite a bit of punishment."

Amata tapped her fingers on the table, nervously eyeing the array of weapons. "If I have to fight, I'd prefer to get over with quickly." She muttered, her eyes flicking over the weapons. "And I don't want to be in front."

"Hmm." Dare hummed, tapping his chin in thought. "What are your skills?"

She thought for a second. "Well, I used to spend a lot of time in the Clinic, helping the doctor and treating people. I was pretty good at it, and both me and Katie liked to play around with terminals." She caught a brief flash of pain crossing the sniper's face before it vanished, making her unsure if she actually saw anything.

Katie looked up from the table. "I used to beat the crap out of the boys in the Vault when they picked on us, and I was the Laundry Cannon Operator for a while." Dare's eyebrow went up at 'Laundry Cannon'. Her mouth twisted in disappointment. "We didn't really need it, so I did Maintenance for the most part, repairing broken pipes and such."

The sniper scanned their bodies closely, making them slightly uncomfortable under his piercing gaze. He pushed an assault rifle and an SMG to Amata, along with one of the security batons from Vault 101. Then, he sent a combat shotgun, a 10mm pistol and sledgehammer Katie's way. "Those will fit you well, I think." He muttered, before grabbing a set of metal armor and handing it to the blonde. "Here, put this on. Clover can help you adjust it to fit. Amata, you and I need to go see my friend." He grabbed a set of leather armor, throwing it over his shoulder. "And bring one of those ballistic vests with you. In fact, once you're done, Clover, come over to Moira's and bring the other vest with you."

Clover nodded happily. "Sure thing, lover." She tugged on Katie's arm, leading her up the stairs as Amata quickly grabbed one of the vests and followed the sniper outside. The brunette found her eyes unable to settle on one thing, going from the ramshackle but well-cared-for homes, to the two-headed cow being milked, to the man in a duster and cowboy hat talking to a woman in a yellow jumpsuit, finally settling on the large, undetonated nuke sitting in the center of town, a small congregation gathered around it as an old man in rags preached.

Amata reached over and tapped Dare's shoulder rapidly, her eyes fixed on the nuke. "That's not active, is it?" She whispered hurriedly, as if afraid a loud question might set it off.

Dare smiled to himself. "No, it's not. I disarmed it awhile after I came here, though that did piss off the group standing near it. They call themselves 'The Children of Atom', and they worship the bombs and radiation." His uncharitable thoughts on their sanity tactfully went unsaid.

The former Vault-Dweller breathed a sigh of relief as they entered a shop marked 'Craterside Supply'. "Oh, hey Dare!" A cheerful voice greeted them, coming from a smiling woman behind the counter.

"Morning, Moira." Dare replied, his face creasing in a warm smile. Amata paused in surprise, looking at the sniper in surprise. As long as she had known him (which wasn't long), she barely saw him crack a small smile; usually, he was stone-faced and serious, and it seemed to be his default expression. Seeing a smile made him seem younger by several years, and turned his hardened features…not quite soft, but softer.

Dare unloaded the leather armor on the counter, scanning the cheerful woman as he did so. She had ditched the faded blue jumpsuit in favor of the one from Vault 77, which was not as baggy as the other, hugging her womanly form tightly and emphasizing her surprisingly curvy figure. It definitely looked good on her. "I need your help tailoring this to fit her." He continued, gesturing to a staring Amata. "I was thinking of also using parts from a security vest to reinforce the armor, make it a little more cushioned."

He nodded to Amata. "You can put it down, now." Dare said, finally noticing the former Vault Dweller giving him a strange look. "What?" The smile faded to be replaced by question.

Amata snapped out her sudden reverie, blushing slightly as she put the vest on the counter. "Sorry," She muttered, before her eyes fell on a familiar blue jumpsuit. "You're from a Vault?"

Moira arched an eyebrow at her questioningly, before looking down at herself. "Oh, no, I'm not a Vaultie!" She said with a cheerful smile. "My friend here got this for me!"

"Amata, this Moira. Moira, Amata." Dare smiled at the cheerful woman, tapping the counter. "So, you think we can do that?" He asked, pointing at the armor.

"Of course!" Moira replied happily. "It's pretty simple. Though, I will need her measurements first." She said, coming around the counter with a measuring tape.

Amata followed the shopkeeper into the back room, shooting the sniper a wary look before the door closed. Dare leaned against the counter, checking his armor for holes, finding one on his right side where the leather had been worn away. He stripped it off and laid it on the workbench, grabbing a leather scrap and his sewing materials.

A muffled crack filtered in from outside, making the two men look up. "Gunfire." Dare muttered.

"Yup." The merc grunted back.

"Trouble?"

"Probably."

"Hm."

"Mhm."

"Should probably check it out."

"Possibly."

Dare pulled his armor back on quickly and left the shop, making a beeline for the gates, the citizens of Megaton looking wary. Katie and Clover had just stepped out of his house with confused expression as Dare quickly scaled the ladder to the lookout, where he found Stockholm kneeling behind cover as bullets and expletives flew at him in equal measure. "Raiders?"

"Yup." The watchman answered tersely. "These ones seem to be higher than usual, which is saying something. The one that looks like the leader-"

A short explosion cut him off, followed by a maniacal scream. "I am the one who will ascend on the cloud of fire!" Dare chanced a peek over the lip of the cover, spying a Raider standing tall on top of a rock. He wore explosives everywhere on his body, decorating his chest, shoulders and legs with mines and grenades. The man shouted to the sky again, before ripping a pair of grenades off of his belt and hurled them at the gates of Megaton.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The Raiders chanted zealously.

"I'm guessing by his fixation with explosives he wants to get into Megaton and set the nuke off?" Dare asked dryly.

"Undoubtedly." Stockholm replied. "I wonder how crazy it would make him if he found out it was inert?"

The Sniper shrugged. "He'd probably explode. Speaking of, why haven't you shot him yet? And where's Weld?"

"Everytime I try to line up a shot, those bastards shoot at me. I can't stick my head up for a second, or I'll get filled full of holes." He explained shortly. "And they hit Weld with a handful of grenades; I'm pretty sure he's scrap now."

Dare hummed in thought. "Can I see that?" He asked, pointing at Stockholm's sniper rifle.

The watchman passed it off easily. "Sure, but I don't know what good it'll do."

Dare stuck his hand above cover, waving it slowly and drawing it back down quickly as bullets began to fly. He waited for a few seconds until the clicking of empty magazines reached his ears, standing up and accessing his Sniper's Mind. Time slowed to a crawl, his eyes focused on 'Boom' as he called the Raider, and pulled the trigger. He didn't even have to aim, knowing his bullet would hit its target.

It flew straight and true, carving through the still air to impact into the mine at Boom's belt with a soft clink that seemed to echo. Then he exploded with the force of a small nuke.

When the glare faded, Dare peered down at the newly-formed crater. There was no body, and it seemed 'Boom' had gotten his wish to ascend in an explosion, for there was nothing left. With the exception of a few dead Raiders lying around the crater, and a few more stumbling around, dazed. "There we go." He said simply, handing the rifle back. "I trust you can take care of the stragglers?"

"Yeah, I got 'em." Stockholm muttered.

"Good." Dare replied, sliding down the ladder, finding Lucas Simms standing near the bottom with Katie and Clover. "The problem's been dealt with. Though, you will need to get Deputy Weld repaired."

"Damn." Simms sighed, scratching the skin under his hat. "Well, thanks for taking care of whoever was out there."

"No problem." The sniper said, gesturing for the two women to follow him. "How's that armor feel, Katie?"

The former Vault-Dweller rolled her arm, tapping her fist against her armored chest. "It's not too bad, actually." She admitted in surprise. "I thought it would be heavier…and make me feel kind of weird. But instead, I feel ready for anything."

"Good." Dare replied evenly. "You'll be wearing that for a long time, so get used to the feeling. I think Moira should be about done with Amata, and she'll want to meet you too."

Upon entering Craterside Supply again, they found Amata clad in her new leather armor, adjusting her belt into a more comfortable place. She looked up as they came in, her eyes falling on her friend. They stared at each other for a few seconds in silence. "This makes it real, doesn't it?" The brunette asked quietly.

"Kinda." Katie replied seriously.

"Oh, you must be the other Vaultie!" Moira greeted the blonde with a friendly grin. "It's nice to meet you." As she talked to Katie, Dare examined Amata.

Her leather armor was much like his, but adjusted for her frame and padded with pieces from the security vest around the stomach and thighs. Much like Katie, she didn't seem awkward in something other than her Vault Jumpsuit. By her straighter stance, she actually seemed more confident in herself.

Moira had Katie strip out of her metal armor so that she could add the cushioning, and they had enough material left over to upgrade Clover's armor as well. Dare worked alongside the shopkeeper at the workbench and quietly explained the situation with the two Vault-Dwellers. "So, do you have any simple jobs I could take them on?"

"I do, actually." She replied excitedly, putting the finishing touches on Clover's armor. "I created a mole rat repellent using a mixture of jet and psycho! Just one tap of the applicator and poof! The mole rats get this feel-bad sensation and leave you alone! Or, so I hope. I haven't gotten the chance to test it out fully, so I want you to take it out and find some little critters to hit with it."

Moira reached under the counter and withdrew a simple sturdy curved stick that had some sort of virulent green mixture sprayed on it. Dare made sure to keep it away from his face, lest he get a contact-high. "How many would be enough for conclusive testing?"

"Ten." She said after a second of thought. "Normally, I would tell you to go to the sewers near the Anchorage memorial because there's a nest there, but it's downtown, and if those Vaulties are as new as you say they are, then that's probably a little out of their league."

"I agree. It's too soon to take them downtown, and mole rats aren't hard to find. And I need to have them run around in their new clothes and weapons, help them get used to the weight." He paid the shopkeeper for her service and set out from the store, stopping at his house to retrieve their equipment and set out.

"You use bottle caps as currency?" Amata asked, half in curiosity and half in bemusement. "Why, exactly?"

Dare thought for a second, and was surprised to find that he had no answer. The NCR used paper money, but bottle caps were the preferred way to pay, unless you had the materials to trade. "I'm not entirely sure." He admitted with a shrug.

Katie snorted in amusement. "Seems like a random thing to use as money." She shook her head. "Bottle caps…" She frowned in thought, and retrieved a small bag from her armor. "I found a bag of caps in my dad's desk when I was leaving. I used to think it was just some random 'dad thing', but he knew what he was doing when he left."

"He might have been preparing to leave." Dare offered. They stopped outside of the gates, watching as a few people scavenged the raider corpses lying around, with Simms and an older man crouched around the sparking remains of Deputy Weld.

"Yeah, maybe." The blonde muttered quietly. "Why are we not going downtown?"

Dare waved a wand at the carnage. "The whole downtown area is infested with Raiders and worse: Super Mutants."

Amata felt a shiver roll up her spine. "Do I want to know what those are?" She asked tentatively.

"Usually around eight feet tall, green skin, vicious, hostile and at the same time, smarter than they look and dumber than you'd think. And they only get bigger, meaner and less intelligent as they get older, and they can live for hundreds of years." He replied shortly. "While they are tough, anyone well-prepared can kill them pretty easily."

The brunette sighed. "You weren't joking when you said almost everything out here wants to kill us, were you?"

"It's not something to joke about." Dare said seriously. They walked in silence for an hour across the dry earth, the sun beating down on them. The Sniper pulled his hat on and chewed on a piece of gum, his eyes scanning the horizon intensely. Clover was bored, sighing every so often and swinging her super sledge loosely.

The former Vault-Dwellers were dealing with the heat admirably well, though both had a fine sheen of sweat on their faces and were breathing hard. Amata wiped a hand over her forehead and sighed. "Can we stop for a bit?" She eventually asked.

Dare nodded shortly and came to a stop at the top of a hill, sitting down on a flat bit of rock and taking a pull from his canteen. "Drink slowly." He cautioned the girls. "Water is important, and you need to ration it."

They nodded and talked quietly as he looked through his monocular, humming in satisfaction as he spotted a small cave in the distance with a pair of mole rats basking in the sun outside. "I found some mole rats." He relayed quickly, pointing at the cave. "I need to do the testing for Moira first, but we'll clean it out afterwards."

They set off again, Dare pulling the mole rat repellent out as he approached the cave. The mole rats hissed and charged at him, snarling as they leapt through the air with their large front teeth bared. The sniper quickly side-stepped the flying animals and whacked both on the head with the stick, immediately drawing Justice just in case it didn't work.

The mole rats landed on the ground, stumbling but no longer hostile, their heads smoking strangely. "Huh." Amata said, leaning in to look at the animals. "I guess it work-"

Their heads popped like a pair of blood sausages, splattering her face with blood and chunks of brain matter. Katie let out a strangled half-groan half-laugh, warring feelings of disgust and humor twisting her insides.

"That may have been a major reaction." Dare reasoned, handing a rag and a bottle of dirty water to Amata, who was staring at nothing with blood dripping down her face, before she pitched forward and vomited on the ground.

Her friend knelt at her side, patting her back as she heaved and coughed. After a few minutes, she accepted the water and shakily stood, washing her face and washing out her mouth, the bracer-like device on her arm clicking. Dare noticed the device, which he had noted seeing on Katie and James, and resolved to ask them about it. He pulled out a piece of gum and offered it to brunette.

"Alright, I'm fine now." Amata breathed, taking the piece and sighing as the minty flavor washed the sour taste of bile out of her mouth.

Dare took point heading into the cave, gently poking the mole rats that jumped at him with the repellent. Without fail, their heads exploded shortly after. After the tenth and final head explosion, the sniper stored the 'non-lethal' repellent away and directed the girls to engage the remainder with their melee weapons.

It was slightly surprising to find that Katie was strong enough to swing her sledgehammer around like it was a stick, crushing the skulls of mole rats with ease and a certain enjoyment. Amata was a little more squeamish about killing the creatures, but she held her own just fine.

After clearing the cave of mole rats, they searched through it and found a few caps and some ammo, though not much of either. Not that Dare expected to find much; mole rats didn't care for anything they couldn't eat, which included weapons or anything generally valuable.

Their job completed, the quartet made their way back to Megaton, Clover pouting at the lack of action on her end. Seeing that it was as good a time as any, Dare broached the subject of the wrist-mounted objects the former Vault-Dwellers wore. "What are those?" He asked bluntly.

Katie arched an eyebrow in surprise. "You mean our Pip-Boys?" She held the device out in question.

"Ah, a Pip-Boy." The sniper muttered in recognition. "I've heard of them, but I've never seen one before. Well, one that wasn't old and broken. What do they do?"

Amata fiddled with the knobs on her device. "A bunch of things. There's a built-in Geiger counter, a self-updating map, a radio that can pick up signals and play them along with holotapes, some sort of medical equipment that monitors our health and vital signs, and a page with our SPECIAL statistics on it." She explained quickly, tabbing over to the radio page and finding a station listed as 'Galaxy News Radio'.

Dare nodded in understanding, before his brow furrowed in confusion. "SPECIAL stats?"

"Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck." Katie listed off from memory. "They're measured from one to ten, with the ten being the best and one being the worst."

The sniper scratched his chin thoughtfully. "How does it quantify things like Perception or Charisma, or even something as abstract as Luck into a simple number?" He asked, mostly to himself.

The former Vault-Dwellers shrugged at each other. "I don't know." They said at the same time.

"Could be useful, at any rate." The sniper muttered. "I need to set up a training regime for you two before we go anywhere near downtown, so knowing how strong and durable you are will help."

The rest of the trip passed quietly, broken only by the sound of music emanating from Amata's Pip-Boy, which she turned off as they entered Megaton. Moira greeted them with a smile and cheerful wave. "So, how'd the repellent work? Safe and clean like I'd hoped?"

Dare hesitated upon seeing her hopeful and eager face and resisted the urge to lie and make her happy. Lying to Moira would only lead to bad things in the long-run, and he prided himself on being honest. "The mole rats had an allergic reaction to the repellent. An explosive one." He said carefully, placing the repellent on the counter.

Clover snorted as Amata twitched. "That's putting it lightly." She muttered.

It was almost comical the way Moira's face fell at the news. "Oh no! Those poor little creatures." She lamented, covering her eyes. "Maybe I used too much Psycho? Anyway, thanks for testing it out for me, even though it didn't work at all as intended. Here's some caps for your trouble. I have the next subject in mind for whenever you want to tackle it."

"I'll get back to it in a bit. See you later, Moira." He replied, waving as they left the store. They headed back home, and as Dare sat at the table with a piece of paper and a pen, he directed the girls to his workbench. "While I'm writing a schedule out, I want you to get familiar with your weapons. Take the guns apart, clean them and put them back together. If you need help, ask me and use these for references."

He reached over to the small bookshelf and pulled a pair of 'Guns & Bullets' magazines and handed them to the former Vault-Dwellers. As they went about their task, Clover leaned on Dare's shoulder and made suggestions as he wrote. Not all of her ideas were accepted, but the ones that were made the former slave smile happily and snuggle with the sniper, something the girls noticed.

…

 _Later, as they sat around the table eating lunch, Dare laid out his schedule. "First, I need to find out how fit you two are physically…"_

"Punch my hand." The sniper ordered, holding his hands out and open.

Amata hesitated for a second, before throwing her arm forward, her fist meeting his palm with a low smack.

Dare nodded in thought. "Good." Then, he turned to Katie. "Same thing."

The blond didn't hesitate, uncorking a strong blow with an impact that echoed through the house.

The sniper twitched. "Well, you're very strong, but not as fast." He wrung his hand out, wincing. "The sledgehammer was a good choice."

...

Katie dropped her pack with a loud clack as the rocks inside bounced off one another, bent over with her hands on her knees as she panted heavily. Amata was in worse condition, sitting against the wall of the house, drenched in sweat. "Why…do we have…to do this?" She asked through harsh breaths.

"Builds endurance." Dare answered shortly, looking amused. "It's one of the most important parts of survival."

"Why aren't _you_ doing this?" Katie questioned, sucking down water.

The sniper chuckled quietly. "I _have_ done this, when I was younger. My parents trained me like this, as both traveled extensively for their careers; both of which required them to be out in the sun for days at a time, carrying a lot equipment." He paused as Clover jogged to a stop next to him, looking winded.

"Whew!" The former slave blew out a sigh, wiping her forehead. "That's one way to get the blood pumping." She grinned, draping an arm over Dare's shoulder. "The other way's much more fun, Lover."

Dare huffed, shaking his head slightly. "My father was a sniper and my mother was a Ranger, and I decided to follow in my their footsteps. He taught me how to be a Sniper, which included exercises like this…at the beginning."

"Prove it." Katie challenged.

The sniper arched an eyebrow in amusement, before bending down and lifting her pack of rocks onto his back easily. Then, just to prove his point, he grabbed Amata's pack as well and jogged off at a steady pace.

A few minutes later, Dare appeared from the other side of the house. Besides the light sheen of sweat on his forehead, he looked completely unruffled. "Good enough?"

Katie grudgingly nodded, taking her pack back and slinging it on her shoulders with a groan, Amata doing the same. "Yes, you've proven your point."

"Good." The sniper said with a nod. "Now, five more laps around Megaton. And if you finish within two hours, you can take a bath tonight."

The girl perked up and set off with dreams of hot water and soap in their heads. Dare watched them go, restraining a laugh. Clover looked at him curiously as she set her pack aside, having already finished. "What's so funny, Lover?"

"They don't know that the next step up is more laps…while in full gear."

...

"Close-Quarters Combat is not something you want to do, ever." Dare lectured, standing in the middle of the cleared out floor. "Basically everything you'll meet in the Wasteland will be physically stronger than you. Deathclaws and Yao Guai…just don't. Feral ghouls are spindly and can be taken down with a few good blows, but they're fast and attack randomly, same with Raiders, though they're usually high. Other humans would be the best target, but they'll more often then not be carrying back-up weapons, just like you."

"So stay back and let other people handle it or run away?" Amata offered.

The sniper nodded. "Exactly. But, it's better to know how to fight and never need it, then never know how to fight and get killed. So, Katie, attack me."

Katie blinked in surprise and stood up, taking a simple stance before charging at Dare with a wild blow. Dare swiftly ducked under the blow and grasped her wrist, spinning around behind her and twisting, sending the blonde to the floor on her back. "First lesson: Turning an enemy's momentum against them."

"… _Then, we'll work on weapon proficiency."_

The sound of gunfire ripped through the air, and a can filled with dirt flipped end over end, landing with a clink as earth spilled out of the newly-made holes. Dare walked over and nudged the can up, nodding in satisfaction. "Your bullet grouping is getting better, Amata." He praised, examining the other cans lying on the ground, all with similar perforations.

Amata blushed lightly at the praise, reloading her assault rifle with a practiced hand. "Thanks." She muttered softly, settling the weapon on her back. A loud crack drew their attention to Katie, who had just fired another shot at her target, a dead mole rat hanging from a tree.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this." The blonde said excitedly, checking her aim before firing again, tearing chunks of flesh from the corpse.

"Good." Dare nodded. "Now, switch to your sidearms."

Amata awkwardly pulled her SMG from her holster, holding it uncomfortably in her hand. Katie was much the same, and they shared a brief look before trading weapons, not noticing the small smile on Dare's lips. He'd purposely given them the wrong weapons, to see what they would do.

He wasn't disappointed.

...

"Next, we're moving on to moving targets." The sniper said as they walked across the Wasteland. "And the best moving targets are bloatflies. They're pretty swift, and launch venomous stingers to attack. They're also weak enough that a good shot will kill them, and their venom, while painful, isn't fatal unless you overdose, and it takes a lot venom to get there."

As they crested a hill, they found themselves standing above a quagmire of muddy, irradiated water. Bloatflies buzzed over the bog, checking eggs and feeding from the water. Amata gulped. "That…is a lot of flies."

"Yup." Dare replied simply. "Better get to it."

Clover sat herself down on a rock, crossing her arms and pouting. "Why do they get to kill all the things?" She asked grumpily.

The sniper shrugged nonchalantly. "They need to practice."

The former slave threw her arms up in exasperation. "You've been saying that for weeks, Dare!" She said loudly, looking very unhappy. Clover was surprised to see Dare smile warmly at her. "What?"

"You called me by name." He said proudly, as Amata and Katie opened fire.

Clover blinked in confusion, going over the conversation in her head. Then, her eyes went wide in surprise and locked on his, her soft brown depths shining with fear. "I-I'm sorry, Lover, I didn't-"

Dare reached out and closed her mouth, cupping her cheeks and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "It's alright, Clover." He whispered. "I want you to call me by my name." He pulled away to see her looking at him with wide, confused eyes, before she blinked and looked at the ground. She slowly leaned on his shoulder and thought silently as he watched the girls shoot at the bloatflies.

…

Later that night, after they had eaten dinner, Dare lay on his bed, feeling sleep creeping up on him. The door creaked as it opened and Clover stepped in his room, wearing the pink dress he had first seen her in, back in Paradise Falls. Her countenance was far from her usual confidence; in fact, she seemed downright shy.

"...Clover?" He asked tentatively. "Is something wrong?"

She gulped audibly, playing with the hem of her dress. "I-" She forced herself to stand straight and look him in the eye. "I remembered…what happened to me. What was done to me in - in that place."

Dare stood in front of her, his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Clover." He said softly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Clover stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his chest, leaning her forehead on his shoulder. "You already have." She whispered, kissing his neck. "But, if I can ask for one more thing…"

"What?"

She took his wrists and directed his hands to the clasps of her dress. "Help me forget, Dare. Make me feel real again." At his hesitance, tears pooled at the bottom of her eyes. "Please, Dare."

He leaned in and gently kissed her lips, slowly unhooking the clasps and dragging the pink fabric down her body to her feet, where she stepped out of the dress and he discarded it in a corner of the room, to be forgotten. Just like the man who had put her in it in the first place.

"… _Then we'll have you get some experience in your fields of interest."_

Katie paused in her work, sitting back on her haunches and wiping her forehead with her arm. Large metal pumps creaked and hissed around her, though not as badly as they had been a week ago.

"Lookin' good, girlie." An older man with white hair and black skin appraised her work, taking the wrench from her and tightening a loose bolt. "You're welding's still a little patchy and you don't tighten everything all the way, but you've done good. Took some of the workload off my back and extended the water pump's lifetime by ten years, at least."

"Thanks Walter." The blond sighed, sitting on the ground.

"Thank you." He replied. "You've done a good job, and that deserves a reward." The old man handed her an ice-cold Nuka-Cola and sat with her, popping the cap from his and hers and clinking their glasses together.

A few minutes later, Simms appeared in the doorway. "Walter, Katie, there's new job for you." He announced. "One of the railings on the upper-level walkways broke off as someone was leaning on it."

"Was anyone hurt?" Katie asked seriously.

The sheriff shrugged. "The railing itself didn't hurt anyone, but the person leaning on it fell, caught their leg on one of the rails below and broke it, then landed on the tail of the bomb. They're fine for the most part."

"Who was it?"

...

Amata scrubbed her hands in the sink of Doc Church's clinic, having just stitched up a nasty cut on a woman's arm. She had been attacked by Giant Ants and one of them had slashed her up pretty good. Luckily, she had gotten to the clinic in time.

Amata had been working in the clinic for the past week, helping the doctor with the multitude of patients that came in everyday, with wounds varying from simple cuts and fractures to radiation poisoning and drug overdose. She had learned much about the slap-dash medicine used in the Wasteland.

Most people used stimpacks willy-nilly for everything, but when it came to large cuts and broken bones, most didn't know that, unless they set their bones and stitched themselves up, they would be doing more harm than good to their bodies. Stimpacks where dead-useful, but they weren't miracles in syringes.

And Doc Church, while being both abrasive and too fond of his alcohol, also knew his stuff when it came to medicine and chemistry, frequently taking apart Psycho, Jet and the like and turning them into useful cures.

And Amata could tell that having this knowledge would be useful in the coming days.

"Doc, Amata." Simms entered the clinic. "Dare's been injured." He didn't seem to be too alarmed, though.

"What?" Amata asked in surprise. "How?"

"Apparently he was leaning on a weak railing that gave away, and he fell." The sheriff explained. "He doesn't seem to be too injured, but I was there when he fell, and I definitely heard some cracking."

She didn't have to hear anymore. Quickly gathering a dose of Med-X and a stimpack, Amata bustled out of the building to find a few people, mostly worshippers from the Children of the Atom, gathered around the inert nuke. She started to push her way through the group when she heard Confessor Cromwell's reedy voice. "What are you doing, child?"

She broke through to see Dare half-submerged in the dirty pool of water around the bomb, quietly grimacing in pain. "Just bathing in Atom's glow, Confessor." The sniper replied, and Amata refrained from snorting. She had gotten to know him well enough in the last month that she could tell when he was being sarcastic, even when he sounded polite. And she agreed with his view on the Children of Atom: They were nuts, but at least they weren't hostile.

"Ah, I see you have learned of the true unity and division of the Atom!" Cromwell exclaimed gladly. "Well, I'll leave you to it, child."

The crowd dispersed as Katie and Walter came out of the Water Maintenance. "You're the one who got injured, Dare?" The blonde asked in surprise.

Dare sighed and winced in pain. "Yup." He waved off the stimpack offered to him by Amata. "Moira's doing a chapter on injuries and radiation sickness, and as I was contemplating how one who go about it, the rail broke and I fell. Broke my leg and probably cracked a few ribs when I landed on the nuke."

"So you don't want to be healed before you can get back to Moira, then?" Amata deduced. "That's not smart."

"No, but it is fortunate, in a way." The sniper replied, shifting in the pool and wincing. "I will take that Med-X though." He held up his wrist, his Geiger counter clicking steadily. "I'll have to sit here for about thirty minutes before I get radiation sickness."

The brunette gave him an uncertain look before injecting him with the chemicals. "If you're sure." She muttered, before heading back to the clinic. Walter and Katie began repairing the rail as Dare lay in the small pool, fervently wondering if a survival guide was worth it.

"… _I'll also make sure there is time to relax."_

Amata sat on one of the chairs in their house with her feet up on a stool, a cold Nuka-Cola on the table next to her that she occasionally sipped as her nose was buried in a well-preserved copy of _Nikola Tesla and You._

Katie was seated in the other chair near the couch, enthusiastically reading _US Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes_ , occasionally reaching over to tap Clover on the foot and point out a particularly fine example of large weaponry.

This was both annoying and fine with Clover, as she liked big guns as much as the next girl, but she was also lying on the couch with her head in Dare's lap and reading one of the few pre-war books they had (The Count of Monte-Cristo), and she didn't like being pulled away from his calloused fingers running through her hair.

Dare, being the serious man that he was, was reading an issue of _The Silver Shroud._

" _And after that, we'll start taking more dangerous jobs."_

"Landmines are one of the dangers out there that you can profit from." Moira explained to the girls. "Disarm one before it blows, and you can sell it for plenty of caps!"

Katie and Amata were of the same mind that the eccentric shopkeeper sounded far too cheerful about them being possibly blown up.

"I've heard about a place that's chock-full of mines. Most traders just call the place 'Minefield', for self-evident reasons. Sounds like the perfect place for some fieldwork." Far too cheerful. "Get in, get back, and tell me all about it! Don't forget to takes notes, and could you bring a mine back for my studies?" She marked the place on Katie's map.

Dare nodded and finished trading in his salvage. "Sure thing, Moira. That's perfect, actually. There's a place near there that I've heard rumors about being a Raider camp. I wanted to clear that place out soon, so this works out in our favor."

The former Vault-Dwellers traded determined looks. This would be their final test, as far as Dare was concerned. They would have to kill again, not just wild animals, but people.

They were ready.

…

…

…

 **A/N: Been awhile, huh? I got caught up in classes, and family issues and all that fun B.S. and it didn't want to come for this story. But, after some chapters for my other stories and more than a few hours in Fallout 4, my muse was ready to write again.**

 **Notes on the chapter: Katie and Amata get introduced to the dangers of the Wasteland, receive their first weapons and armor, and get a crash-course in surviving the new world they've found themselves in. They won't ditch their jumpsuits, they just wear them around the house or under their armor, like Katie. And I'm going with Fallout 1, 2, and 4 style Vault Jumpsuits, i.e. basically spandex. Future spandex!**

 **Clover finally makes some progress, mentally and with Dare, though she won't be changing too much. There are somethings you don't recover from, that change you permanently.**

 **And Moira gets more of her book done.**

 **The last part of the chapter, with all the skipping around, is my answer to a training montage, that takes place over about a month and a half. They got stronger, wiser and built some new helpful skills. I did this because I didn't want to spend a couple of chapters with just training, that would be boring.**

 **And I've left a few nods to the group's future roles, in RPG terms:**

 **Katie: Tank, ranged DPS.**

 **Clover: Off-Tank, melee DPS.**

 **Amata: Heals/Support.**

 **Dare: Ranged Support/Rogue.**

 **And they won't pick up any more companions, not for a long time anyway, and neither will all of the sidequest be done, I'm not that kind of person. The main questline will be done, as will a few sidequests, and all of the DLCs.**

 **Thanks to Kurogane7 for editing and being a sounding board. Why not check him out?**

 **Thanks for reading this chapter, if you liked it, why not leave a review? And if you like it a whole bunch, why not tell your friends? I'm sure they would like it too, and it would make me happy, and when I'm happy, my muse is happy, and when my muse is happy, she lets me write instead of being a bitch! Yay!**

 **Stay Awesome.**

 **~Soleneus**

 **P.S.: Had my first final today. Only one more to go on Wednesday and then I'm done with classes! Whoo!**

 **Until next quarter, that is.**

 **Boo.**

 **And shit. I'll probably start working on the next chapter of this while it's fresh, but if you read my other works, you can expect updates for all of them in a bit. I've been cycling between them to update, so I don't know exactly when the next chapter are, but I'm working on all of them.**

 **Stay Awesome Some More.**

 **~still Soleneus**


	9. The Final Test

With a dry rustle of thick, rough paper, Dare unrolled a handmade map of the Capital Wasteland as he knew it. There were several marks drawn on the surface, with names above them like 'Arefu', 'Big Town', 'Paradise Falls', 'Tenpenny Tower' and various metro stations and stores, a good many with an x drawn next to the name. "What do those mean?" Amata asked curiously, tapping the mark.

"It means those places had Raiders or animals living there, and that I cleared them out," Dare replied, directing their attention to north-east of Megaton, "This where we're headed. Minefield."

He wrote the name above the coordinates Moira gave him. Nearby there were more places, such as a scrap yard, an area called 'Simms' Coordinates' and a circled spot that had the question 'Raider hideout?' above it. "This is a pretty dense area," Katie remarked, tapping the spot, "There's about five things around there."

"And that is all I _currently_ know about the area," the sniper answered, before pointing at the lower left quadrant of the map. "And this is downtown. It's about twice as dense, building-wise."

Clover leaned over the map, peering at the words. "What's the plan, Dare?"

He tapped Megaton. "We'll leave in a few minutes, head up north and cross at this shallow point in the river," he dragged his finger up, "then, we'll head into the scrap yard and scavenge. Most of what we'll find is junk, but even junk can be useful, and you never know what you might find. If we find a good amount of salvage, we can stash it nearby. After that, we'll head up to Minefield and take a look, then loop around to Simms' coordinates and the possible Raider base. Then we'll grab our salvage and walk back home."

"That sounds good," Katie said with a nod, buckling her metal armor on. "What do you think about Minefield? It sounds sort of suspicious to me. Some random ruins that just happen to be covered in mines? Why?"

Dare shrugged, adjusting his pack and sniper rifle for comfort. "Can't say, but it _is_ odd. I'll take a look at it from a distance and see if there's anything odd before we go in proper. Let me check your pack," he ordered Amata, who opened it and showed him the contents. "Good. Katie?" The blonde bruiser did the same, getting an approving nod. "Alright, I think we're good to head out."

He lead as they stepped out of the house, pulling his hat on as he did, waving to Stockholm as they exited Megaton proper. Amata tugged on a red ballcap to keep the sun out of her eyes, and Katie and Clover set armored metal helmets made from scavenged bike helmets on their heads.

They walked through the mostly destroyed town, passing a trading outpost set in a half-exploded school and crossing the rocky shallows nearby. Katie pointed out a grouping of derelict buildings, where they could see the smoke from a fire spewing into the air. "Are we going to check that out?"

Dare glanced at the thrown-together barricades. "We're busy already; let's just note the location and come back later. If we step off the path we're on, we could spend an entire week finding random things to do in the Wasteland," he replied, popping a piece of gum in his mouth.

A few minutes later, they crested a hill to find a broken road leading into the crumbled, rusted gates of the scrap yard, which was stacked with the desiccated husks of cars, buses and box cars. There was an empty shack near the entrance, and they could see three smoke stacks rising in the distance.

As they neared the entrance, a sudden shout rang through the air, followed by gunshots. Drawing their weapons, the group hurried into the yard, running past a rusted shipping container. Rounding it, they heard a shout as a Raider fired her SMG at a mottled grey and black dog that crouched and lunged, driving the woman to the ground and, with a vicious jerk of its head, ripped her throat out.

Dare raised his pistol cautiously, watching the dog carefully as it climbed off the corpse it had just made and faced them with bared teeth, its muzzle bloody. The dog sniffed the air briefly before sneezing and licking its chops before slowly trotting over to the sniper, peering at him curiously.

He pointed his gun at the ground and held his left hand out slowly towards the dog. It sniffed his hand before licking it and stepping forward, letting the Sniper pet his head. "You're a good boy, huh?" Dare asked, holstering his pistol and crouching, petting the dog with both hands as the ladies stepped around him to search the bodies. His eyes found the body of a man not wearing Raider armor, clad in the typical scavenger garb; that is, mostly made of pockets, which were stuffed with handfuls of ammo, chems, tools and other junk. "Is that your owner?"

The dog whined sadly, hanging its head and tail low. "Oh, don't worry boy." Katie soothed, rubbing its back comfortingly. "We'll take care of you. Right?" She asked hopefully, looking at Dare with pleading green eyes.

"Sure. He could come handy." Dare replied, eyeing the torn apart corpses. "He obviously knows his way around hostile people. We are going to have to think up a name for him."

Clover, who was searching the dog's former owner, held up a greasy bundle of paper. "Dogmeat." She announced, making the dog perk up and trot over to her, looking up at her with eager eyes, one of which was brown and the other, blue. The former slave held a piece of something out to him, glancing up at Dare. "His name's Dogmeat. I found a piece of paper wrapped around a few pieces of mole rat jerky with the name on it."

"Anything else?" He asked.

Amata shrugged, pocketing a few clips of ammo. "An SMG, a Chinese pistol and 10mm, along with three doses of Pyscho, some Jet and a pool cue. Nothing's in amazing condition, but there are some useful parts." She relayed, efficiently taking apart the sub-machine gun.

"Let's split up and take a look around." Dare said, glancing around the scrapyard with a critical eye. "It's a pretty small area, and we should be able to hear each other if we shout."

He strode off to look in the shack and the others split off to do their own searching. Katie looked around and grimaced, before looking at Dogmeat speculatively. "Hey boy!" she said, crouching and rubbing his ears, "Can you find something interesting for me?"

Dogmeat barked excitedly, before chasing his tail for a few seconds and trotting off with his nose close to the ground. The blonde shrugged and followed him as he walked through the scrap yard, when he suddenly dashed forward into half of a burned-out bus next to a red shipping container, pointing at a mostly-hidden ammo box under the bench with his nose. Katie smiled to herself and knelt next to the box, retrieving a bobby pin and a screwdriver, using them as a makeshift lockpick and to provide torque, respectively.

After a few minutes and about six broken pins, the blonde growled and threw her screwdriver down in frustration. "Dare!" She shouted, making Dogmeat whine sadly. "Oh, it wasn't your fault boy, this damn lock is getting on my nerves."

Dare stepped out of the shack, looking up from the magazine he was reading. "What, Katie?" He asked, walking over to her.

"I can't unlock this thing," she complained, rapping the box with her knuckles. "Can you take a crack at it?"

"Sure." The sniper crouched next to her, bringing out his own make-shift lockpicking kit. He worked the lock gently, listening intently, nodding when he heard something good and turned the lock, making it click. Opening it, he reached inside and retrieved three rolled up magazines. "Odd." He muttered, spreading the readables on the bench. "All I've found so far is another magazine. And a handful of caps and a couple of cherry bombs."

"It's not like expanding our library is a bad thing." Katie offered optimistically, before grinning. "Oh, issue twenty-three of _Grognak the Barbarian_! I haven't read that one yet. And issue eight of _U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower_ Recipes! Score."

Dare smiled to himself, noticing that the blonde had referred to the collection of books and magazines as 'our library'. She had come to consider his house as her own, along with Amata, and they were taking to the change of lifestyle very well.

They gathered up their papery loot and made for the exit of the scrap yard, finding the others there as well. "Find anything interesting?" Clover asked, standing up from the broken fence she was leaning on, "Because I didn't find jack shit."

"I found some useful scrap metal, but nothing beyond that." Amata reported with a shrug.

"I found an issue of _Lying, Congressional Style_ , and Katie found _Grognak the Barbarian, U.S.: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes,_ and _Guns and Bullets_." Dare relayed, rolling the magazines up and storing them away. "Not too bad and nothing too heavy. We should continue on."

They exited the yard with Dogmeat bounding along beside them, heading for the cluster of houses in the distance. Dare scaled a short hill with Amata, setting the butt of his rifle in his shoulder and peering through the scope as the medic looked through the monocular. "Doesn't look like the neighborhood itself has anyone living there," she told him.

There were only four houses still standing out of what looked to be eight or nine, the others having been reduced to burnt, collapsed skeletons. At the far end of the road ending in Minefield, there was the ground floor of what might have once been an office building overlooking the neighborhood. Dare was scanning that building when he saw a flash of sunlight reflecting off of glass and his hair stood on end.

"Sniper!" he shouted, pushing himself back as a bullet impacted the dirt just below his face. "He's in the concrete building! Amata, give me cover fire, I'm going to move down there." He pointed at an outcrop of rock on the far end of the hill they were on. "Fire off a few bursts, then take the others and move near the road. I'll whistle when I'm in position, and when I do, I want you to distract him."

"Okay, Dare!" Amata answered, removing her assault rifle before lifting it over her head and blindly firing in the direction of the building.

Dare rolled away from her and sprinted across the foot of the hill, diving behind the outcropping. Amata pushed away from the hill and slid down the curve to join the others. Clover lead the charge from behind the hill, making tracks towards one of the whole houses. As her feet pounded the dirt, a shot impacted her shoulder, twisting her around and making her fall. Quickly rolling back up, she slid behind the house, Katie and Amata following a second later with Dogmeat hot on their heels, just missing another bullet.

"Clover, are you alright?" The medic asked worriedly, checking the white-haired woman's shoulder.

"It's fine, the shot ricocheted off my armor, didn't even get through." She reassured, patting the brunette's hand. They waited in cover for what felt like minutes, but was merely seconds in reality, until a low whistle reached their ears, making Dogmeat bark. "Now!"

They slipped out from behind the house, firing their weapons at the building. From the distance, they could vaguely make out the form of a man half-hiding behind a pillar, looking down at them through his scope.

A sharp crack rang out and the man collapsed. All they could see were his feet, shuffling as he writhed on the ground in pain. Another shot made his feet jerk, then go still. The ladies slung their weapons on their backs as Dare jogged over to them, his rifle secured. "That takes care of that," he said simply, as if it happened everyday. It probably did, actually. "Now, do you remember what I told you about mines?"

Katie rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Given his dull tone of voice, a stranger would be mistaken for thinking that Dare was being nagging, but she knew that he was simply concerned. Not on the level of her father; he knew she could take care of herself and trusted her to do so. He would have her back as long as she had his. "The on/off button is in the middle of the mines," She started.

"Walk carefully, because making the ground shake will set the mine off quicker," Amata continued with a smile.

"If you don't think you can disarm the mine, shoot it from a safe distance." Clover finished with a smirk, getting in on the joke.

"Because getting your hand blown off is not worth a handful of caps." They repeated at the same, making Dare give them a dry look.

"Get to it." He said, waving them off, stepping carefully on the road, stopping to disarm the mines he found before heading into the house closest to the sniper's building. After unlocking the door, he stepped in and found himself in the dimly-lit interior. It was bare of any furniture, save a bookshelf that had a pre-War book lying on top of it in workable condition. The kitchen was bare, save for a few scattered plates, a Salisbury Steak in the fridge and a box of Sugar Bombs on the counter.

There was an office on the ground floor with a desiccated skeleton lying on the floor next to a desk, which he paid his respects to before searching the room. The desk yielded a few caps and bobby pins, and when he looked around the room again, he saw a wardrobe that been pushed away from the wall a bit, exposing the edge of a safe. Grabbing the wardrobe, Dare pulled it away, completely revealing the safe.

It only took him a few seconds to have the safe open, finding a pair of clips for a 10mm, and what might have been a pistol at one point, but was now a rusted hunk of metal, and what looked like a Pip-Boy, except smaller, with a number pad and a small reflective dish instead of a screen, and exposed wires.

Shrugging, the sniper pocketed the device and looted the wardrobe of clothes to use as rags before continuing up the stairs, finding a bedroom that had a small bed, which had a large teddy bear with a magazine on it, along with a small skeleton that had to have belonged to a child. Dare sighed, before taking the magazine and a box of darts under the bed.

There wasn't much else in the house, just a skeleton that had belonged to a very large man in the main bedroom and couple of stimpaks and a dose of Med-X in a first aid box.

Dare exited the house and made his way up to the sniper's post, disarming a few more mines before walking up a set of steps. He found the body of the other sniper lying near the central pillar, a pool of blood having spread from the shot Dare had landed in his chest that had taken him down, and the one to the head that had finished him off.

He had been an old man wearing crudely-made clothes, and the sniper lying next to the corpse wasn't in the best condition. Dare touched his forehead and his chest and drew an A, before scavenging the rifle and a pair of ammo boxes that held a good amount of .308 ammo and more frag mines.

With all the mines they had collected in Minefield, after selling a good chunk for a profit, Dare could salvage the explosives to make more trip-mines, and have enough left over to teach the girls how to create them.

He took the all that he could, including a trio of Nuka-colas and dropped down to meet the others in the playground. Their packs were a little more full than before. "What did you find?"

Clover opened her pack and rifled through the contents. "A couple of books in good condition, some ammo, a medical journal and a couple of bodies that didn't have much on them." She relayed, grabbing a can of Pork 'n' Beans, cracking it open as she sat on a rusted and bent bench.

"I found much the same," Amata added, "Four books, some ammo and a few caps, nothing else besides a few stimpaks. And a magazine about locks."

Katie huffed. "The house I went into was filled with fucking radroaches and pretty much nothing else, except for a couple of books." Her countenance brightened. "I did find another issue of Grognak, though. And some weird thing that looks kind of like a Pip-Boy."

Clover peered at the device, humming in recognition. "That's a Stealth-Boy. You strap it on and activate it, and it'll turn you mostly invisible for about an hour. You can only use them once, though."

"Could be useful." Amata commented as the blonde put it back.

They sat around the destroyed playground, eating lunch. Dare chewed on a strip of brahmin jerky after giving some to Dogmeat. "We have found a lot of books today." He noted, patting his pack. "I found a few books and an issue of _Pugilism_ _Illustrated_ in the house I searched."

"Ooh!" Katie sat up, beckoning for him to hand it over, "Can I see that?" she asked around a mouthful of bread.

The sniper handed it over and sat back, eating his meal. A few minutes later, they had finished and set off from the now-empty Minefield, heading around the scrap yard to the coordinates Simms had given him nearly a month ago. They found that it lead to a tall, well-constructed shack with a trio of brahmin grazing out front.

Striding up to the door, Dare knocked twice. A slat in the door was pulled back to reveal a pair of serious brown eyes. "What do you want?" the person, a woman by the voice, asked roughly.

"A man named Lucas Simms gave me the coordinates to this place, and note for someone named 'Sonora Cruz,'" Dare replied blandly.

"Oh!" the woman said, her tone becoming friendly, "Come on in."

The slat closed and a pair of locks clicked before the door swung open, allowing them entry. The woman who had answered was on the short side with a friendly smile, wearing a tough brown leather duster that was zipped up to the top. "Sonora's in the room at the top of the stairs," she told them.

Dare thanked her and walked through the shack, heading up the stairs. The interior of the shack was dimly-lit but well cared-for and neat. They saw a few more people milling about, and all wore the same duster, and few had ten-gallon hats on their heads, and laser rifles sitting next to them.

The sniper entered the top most room to find a tall woman in a duster and cowboy hat standing next to another who was sitting at a radio. She arched an eyebrow at them and strode over with long, even strides. "Can I help you?" she asked seriously.

"My name's Dare," Dare introduced himself, "Lucas Simms told me to give this to you." He handed her the note and watched her reaction carefully. It was humorous to watch the woman's eyes widen as she read it.

"I haven't seen Simms sound so excited before," Sonora muttered, impressed, giving Dare a searching look, "What did you do to make him sound so happy?"

The sniper thought back. "There was a man in Megaton who called himself Burke. He hired me to use a fusion charge to rig the nuke in the center of town to explode and paid me to do it. I went to Simms and gave him the charge, then disarmed the nuke for good measure. After that, I traveled to Tenpenny Tower to meet Burke, told him the charge was armed, and went with him to meet his boss, Allistair Tenpenny. He had sent Burke out for the job to destroy Megaton because he said it was a 'blight on his view of the horizon.'"

Even if his tone hadn't changed, everyone in the room could feel the sarcastic air-quotes he had used on that sentence.

"I killed both of them," Dare continued simply, "And took their forefingers, like Simms had asked. I gave them to him, then a month later, I went in to Paradise Falls, killed every slaver there and set the slaves free."

Sonora gaped at him unashamedly. "Wait, _you're_ the one who cleared out Paradise Falls?" She asked in amazement. "By yourself?"

The sniper shook his head. "No. Clover was a former slave that I bought, set free and we cleared it out together."

Clover smiled and nodded, patting her shotgun in satisfaction. "Best day ever." She declared, hugging Dare from behind. "I got set free, and I got to kill those bastards."

The leader of the duster-club blinked in surprise. "Well…okay, then. I can see why Simms was excited, and why he sent you here. You're definitely Regulator material." She stated proudly.

Dare frowned in thought. "Regulator?" he asked.

"It's what we are," Sonora replied, waving her hand at walls of the shack, "We're the Regulators. We've dedicated our lives to bringing evil to justice. And out in the Wasteland, there's only one brand of justice: the gun."

"How many of you are there?" Dare questioned, watching as she strode over to a locker and pulled it open.

"How many of _us_ , you mean," she said with a smile, presenting him with a newly-made duster, "There are quite a few of us spread out all over the Wasteland. The ones here just help with organizing things. I'd be proud to have you join us."

The sniper looked from the coat to the woman for a second, before nodding in acceptance and taking the duster. "I accept."

Sonora grinned widely, shaking his hand firmly. "Welcome to the Regulators, Dare. Wear that coat with pride. As part of the Regulators, if you bring me the fingers of evil people, I'll pay for them as recognition of your work, and if you need help, any nearby Regulators would be glad." She explained as Dare pulled it on, adjusting it to fit comfortably around his leather armor.

"I appreciate it," Dare replied, turning as Amata tapped his shoulder and whispered to him. "Could I buy a laser rifle?"

"Sure," the lead Regulator answered easily, nodding, "The quartermaster is downstairs, he has a few spares you could buy. I look forward to meeting you again."

"Same," he said, and the group fell out to head downstairs. The sniper found a male Regulator downstairs, swapping Amata's assault rifle and a pouch of caps for a blocky laser rifle that the medic nearly squealed in happiness upon receiving.

They exited the building and Dare immediately unzipped the duster and left it that way. Having closed leather over more leather was a good way to overheat, and it was far more comfortable that way. He looked at the ladies questioningly and gestured at himself. "How do I look?"

Katie hummed before reaching out and adjusting the collar. "You look like a pre-War gunslinger," she said, smiling, "It's good. It works for you."

Clover agreed vocally, while Dogmeat barked happily and Amata was rubbing her new rifle. "Thanks for getting this for me, Dare," she said gratefully, "I like how it feels."

"Good," he replied. "Just remember that they can disintegrate people, and you can't scavenge much from a pile of ashes."

"Mhm," the medic hummed, slinging it over her shoulder, "So, the possible Raider base next?"

Dare nodded, setting off south. "Yes. We actually got what we need to get done earlier than I expected, so we can investigate those ruins we passed earlier." He replied.

They walked for a few minutes before an antenna array rose in the distance, above the bombed-out ruins of a building with an underground installation built into a nearby hill, all contained within a rusted fence.

The group paused before they came within range of the possible Raider base. "So…" Katie started hesitantly, playing with the handle of her sledgehammer. "This is it, huh?"

"Yes." Dare replied bluntly. "I'm going to find a good overwatch position, and if it looks like you're in something you can't handle, I help; but for the most part, it's your show. Make your plan of attack, watch each other's backs and stay safe." He ordered, before nodding to them and striding off.

Amata sighed heavily, fingering her laser rifle. "Alright, how are we going to handle this?" She asked.

Clover patted Dogmeat. "Don't look at me, this is your show." She replied blandly.

Katie sucked her teeth for a second, before snapping her fingers in realization. "Amata, let me see that monocular." Her childhood friend handed her the telescope and she climbed on top of a rock, peering through it to scout out the area. "I see four, no, five Raiders in the ruined building. One of them has a missile launcher on the second floor, two of them have assault rifles, one has a pool cue, and another has a baseball bat. Wait, there's another walking along the road with a hunting rifle."

She jumped down and gave the monocular back. "Here's what we're going to do: We're going to wait until the raider on the road turns the other way, then sneak from the fence to those sandbags. Amata, you wait there for the signal, then pick off the one with the launcher. Clover, Dogmeat and I will sneak up below the windows and on my signal, we'll bust in and start shooting." She explained, drawing a few crude figures in the dirt to illustrate.

"Sounds like a plan." Amata agreed and Dogmeat yipped quietly, and they set off to enact said plan. They waited until the raider on the road turned around to walk the distance again before crouch-running over to a pile of sandbags. The medic stopped there and watched in tense silence as the others continued on, kneeling just under the windows.

She shouldered her laser rifle and took aim at the missile-launcher wielding raider's head.

Katie shouted, "Now!" Before jumping through the window and unloading into the room with her shotgun.

Amata realized something was off the second before she pulled the trigger and the loud, hissing splash of a laser splitting the air rang as a red beam zipped right past the raider's head, making him cry out in pain, clutching his forehead. He growled and turned towards the source, revealing the laser beam had burnt and angry red line above his brow.

The laser rifle had been calibrated for someone who was left-handed. Quickly adjust her aim, Amata fired again, just as the raider brought his launcher to bear. But, she had overestimated the adjustment and missed his head again. This time, though, she hit something.

Her laser sped into the tube of the missile launcher, detonating the explosive inside.

A cloud of smoke and dust engulfed the room, making Katie cough and close her eyes to rub the grit out of them. Someone jumped her from behind, landing on her back, yanking her shotgun out of her hands and tossing it somewhere in the cloud before clawing at her face.

Katie growled and flung her head back, feeling the reinforced metal impact someone's face. She reached over her shoulder and grabbed the raider by the back of their neck, bending over and hurling them to the floor, drawing her sledgehammer in the same motion. She stomped on the figure's chest and brought the hammer down on their head, splattering their skull on the floor.

Someone screamed from behind and Katie spun on her heel, slamming the top of the hammer into their stomach before swinging low into their jaw, sending the female raider tumbling to the floor. She stepped forward and finished her off with another blow to the head, then pulled her SMG and turned to face the room.

She found Clover finishing off the last in the room with a shotgun blast to the head. Before she could speak, a round glanced off the side of her helmet, making her head jerk from the impact and surprise. Katie turned and found the raider on the road cycling the bolt for another shot, when a red beam burned the air, scything through her arm and the butt of the hunting rifle.

The raider screamed in pain and stumbled back, letting another beam impacted her chest. She was engulfed in a red flash and a loud crackling before her form tumbled to the ground in a pile of ash.

Sweeping the room, Katie holstered her SMG before retrieving her shotgun and looting the room of ammo and anything useful. Amata waved to them from outside and they joined her, Dogmeat cleaning his muzzle of blood. "Sorry about that." She apologized sheepishly. "The sights were calibrated for a left-handed person. And the missile launcher was scrapped. Sorry, Katie, I knew you wanted that."

The blond sighed, rubbing the score the bullet had made in her helmet. "Don't worry about it, 'Mata. We'll find another one, somewhere." She soothed, patting her shoulder. Looking up, she found Dare standing from his position, waving down at them. They waved back but paused in realization. "Dare!" Katie shouted, "Behind you!"

As Dare waved down at them, he heard the crunch of dirt behind him and felt something traveling towards his head. He ducked instantly, a blood-stained bat passing through the space his head had occupied. He threw his arm behind him, jamming his elbow in his attacker's kidney before standing straight, grabbing the bent-over man by the face and throwing him to ground. Then, he drew his pistol and shot the raider in the head.

He searched the body before sliding down the hill to join them, brushing the accumulated dirt from his duster. "That was pretty good, though there were some problems. You missed your first shot, Amata." The medic relayed the situation quickly, and he nodded. "That explains it. You'll get better with experience, and you pulled your plan off pretty well. But…" He lead, gazing at them seriously from under his hat. "You just killed people. How do you feel?"

Katie looked down at her bloodstained hammer, remembering how the handle shuddered in her grip as it plowed through a pair of human skulls. To her surprise, the bruiser didn't feel sick; vaguely disgusted, yes, but not sick. She wasn't even trembling.

Amata glanced over at the pile of ash that had once been a living person. Sighing, she slung her rifle on her back. "I didn't like it, but they would've killed us in heartbeat. They weren't going to show us mercy or talk about it. So, while I didn't enjoy it, it was necessary. We did what we had to do to survive." She said quietly, with Katie agreeing.

Dare nodded solemnly. "That's a very healthy way of looking at it. Keep yourself detached from the killing, but remember why you do it: So that you and the ones you care for can live another day. When you enjoy killing others, you start down a terrible, bloody path that leads to dark places; and that path is _very_ hard to step off of." He stated seriously. "We still have the rest of this place to explore. Let's get moving."

They headed towards the underground entrance and upon opening the door, the former Vault-Dweller's Pip-Boy's began to click in warning. "Radiation." Amata muttered, handing out Rad-X pills. "Let's make this quick."

The hallway lead to an angled room with a long, round window overlooking a tall, empty room. At the very bottom, there was some sort of door in the floor that was tightly shut.

There wasn't much in the room, and as they descended down the staircase to the bottom of the room, their Geiger Counters clicked faster. Hurrying towards the only corridor they could see, but stopped when something chirped and opened fire, bullets whizzing past them.

Clover grabbed a grenade from her pouch and pulled the pin when the turret ceased firing, hopping out into the line of fire just long enough to hurl it down the corridor. They heard a clank as metal hit metal, then a brief explosion and dying whirr.

Stepping out cautiously, then quickly when nothing shot at them, the group hurried down the corridor, passing the destroyed remains of a turret. The farther they got from the tall room, the softer their Counters clicked. The end of the hallway ended in metal door with a wall-mounted terminal next to it. Katie knelt at the door, fishing her lock-picking equipment out as Amata slid the keyboard out and started clicking away.

Five minutes and several broken picks later, Katie growled and stepped away from the lock. "Dammit, it's too tough." She muttered through gritted teeth.

Just then, the terminal buzzed and shut down, making Amata throw her hands up in frustration. "This is impossible!" She said angrily, smacking the side of the terminal.

Clover sighed and took another Rad-X, and Dare frowned in thought. He wasn't going to leave after coming so far and being stymied right at the very end. Katie and himself shared a similar skill-level at picking locks, so if she couldn't do it, neither could he. Knocking it down with Clover's Super-Sledge and Katie's regular sledge would take long enough that they would die of radiation poisoning before they actually broke it down.

Dare snapped his fingers in realization, pulling out his combat knife and one of the cherry bombs, using the edge of the blade to split the seam containing paper cylinder that held the gunpowder. It fit neatly into the lock, and the sniper took his gum and pressed it around the gunpowder, making a homemade shaped charge.

They backed away after he lit the wick, but there was only a loud crack and barely any smoke as it detonated. Dare approached the burned out lock and slid his knife under the bent metal; with a quick twist and a jerk, the sniper pulled the whole lock out of the door entirely. With a small flourish, he twisted the switch and the door rolled open, metal slats falling away to reveal a room that made the group gasp in surprise.

It was a treasure trove. Clover and Katie rushed in, seizing what they wanted.

In the room, here were four tables and two large shelves. The table nearest to the door had two missile launchers sitting on it, with two ammo boxes underneath that held six missiles each. Clover grabbed one of the tubular weapons quickly.

Another was covered in explosives; three frag mines and three black cylinders that had glowing green nodules on the top and bottom, and two ammo boxes containing four more of each type.

The center table had two sniper rifles sitting atop it, with two boxes full of .308 ammo for them.

The shelves in the back had the largest wealth of goods stacked on the shelves: Several bottles of Rad-X, six packages of RadAway, three silver Pulse Mines, three bundles of energy cells, two advanced radiation suits, and four ammo boxes on the bottom shelves. One contained several boxes of 10mm., another with boxes of 5mm., another with .32 rounds, and the last contained a plentiful supply of microfusion cells.

The last table held what had immediately grabbed Katie's attention. Sitting on top of it was a weapon. A big weapon. It had six barrels held together with metal bands that lead to a large cylinder connected to a box.

It was a minigun, with a pack to carry the ammo boxes, and three olive-green boxes that held several hundred rounds.

It was like the Garden of Eden, except for killing people.

Amata began packing the mines and chems in her pack, while Clover hefted one of the launchers to get a feel for it. Dare checked the sniper rifles and found that they weren't badly damaged, though his was in better overall condition, so he used parts from one to fix his and reduced both to spare parts and scrap metal before taking the ammo. He looked up as a loud whirring rang through the air, finding Katie spooling up her new minigun with a gleeful smile on her face.

"It must be Christmas." She whispered, chuckling to herself. "What is this place, that it has some many guns?"

Amata looked up from packing her bag with microfusion cells. "When I was trying to hack the terminal, I remember seeing that this place is called 'Wheaton Armory'. I didn't think to mention it at the time."

Dare laughed quietly. "That would explain it." He muttered.

It took about an hour for them to split their loot in a manner that didn't leave them crawling back to Megaton, having to use some of the clothes they found in Minefield as makeshift bags. In the end, though, they were extremely pleased with what they had found.

They left the Armory quickly and headed back out into the Wasteland, slower than they had at the beginning of the day, making their way back to Megaton. As the ruins they passed earlier came into view, Katie looked to Dare and jerked her head at the area. "Should we still check it out?" She asked curiously.

Dare scanned the area, which consisted of around four buildings, two of which were almost entirely intact, while the others had been blown in half or flattened. Given the size of the buildings and their structural integrity, along with the evidence of a small population, there were would a lot of salvage, if the tenants were hostile.

Given their spoils from earlier in the day, they wouldn't be able to carry any of it. "We'll take a look at it another day." He finally replied, adjusting his multiple bags. "We have enough salvage as it is, we don't need more. Yet."

Nodding in agreement, they continued towards home.

…

It took them three hours to trudge the distance, and when they entered Megaton's gates, the sun was beginning to set. When they entered their house, they set their packs down with groans of relief, then got down to the task of sorting their gains.

The books and magazines were added to the bookshelves, the ammo sorted into the appropriate containers, weapons placed on the weapon table, armor taken off and clothes put on, and medicines separated.

A good amount of the Rad-X they found was to be sold to Doc Church, some scrap metal to Walter, and a few guns they wouldn't use and clothing scraps to Moira. As Katie prepared a bath, Dare gathered a few frag mines and a pulse mine and left with Dogmeat at his side to report to the eccentric shopkeeper.

Moira smiled as he entered, with her customary greeting in the air as soon as he stepped up to the counter. "Hey, Dare! You're back from Minefield, I see. How were those hot little potatoes?"

He smiled back and set the gathered mines on the counter. "We got through Minefield in one piece, and I even brought you a few presents." He waved his hand over the explosives.

The shopkeeper looked over the presents with a surprised expression. "Ooh! Thanks so much, Dare! I can really put these to use in my research, this is a huge boon to my work!" She leaned across the counter and hugged him tightly. "So, how was it? How did you spot the mines?"

"Most of the mines were placed under cars or bushes, though a few were planted in the road where they blended in with dirt. They're easier to spot in low light because of the red lights, but if you watch the details and look for broken patterns, you can find them pretty easy. And, with fast hands, you can get quite a bit from them." Dare replied dutifully.

Moira finished jotting down her notes, looking up when she was done. "Good job, Dare. Here, for your hard work." She handed him a bundle of frag grenades. "You can never have too many explosives, right? And, since you drew up those trip-mine blueprints for me, I made one of the Bottlecap mines for you."

"I appreciate it." He thanked with a nod, taking the equipment. "We gathered a lot of salvage today, so I'll be in tomorrow with a bit of stuff to sell. Are we still on for tomorrow night?"

Moira smiled widely and hugged the sniper again. "You betcha! Have a good night!"

Dare waved as he left the store, sighing as he stretched his shoulders and walked back home. He found Katie sitting at the table with loose, wet blonde hair as she cleaned her minigun, the sounds of splashing water and the lack of Amata indicating that it was her turn to bathe.

He cracked open the fridge and got to cooking, and within minutes, the house was filled with the mouth-watering scent of grilled brahmin steak, potatoes and carrots.

When Amata was finished, she took over the cooking while Dare and Clover took their turn to wash up. And even though they were both naked in the hot water, nothing happened. Both were too tired to try anything.

Dinner was served piping hot with ice-cold Nuka-cola to wash it down, and they ate devoured their food hungrily, Dogmeat using his heterochromic eyes to great effect to beg for food, even though Dare had set aside a portion for him.

As soon as they were done and the dishes washed, the ladies headed up to bed, leaving Dare alone at the table.

Hours passed as he cleaned and performed maintenance on his weapons with care and attention, enjoying the simple act as a way to unwind from the stress of the day. Dogmeat was curled up on the chair, snoring and snuffling in his sleep.

He looked up as Katie emerged from her room and shuffled down the stairs, peering at him with sleepy eyes. "Dare?" She asked sleepily. "What are you still doing up? It's like…" She checked her Pip-Boy briefly. "One in the morning."

"It's that late?" He mused, cleaning Red Empress. "Huh. I must've gone into a trance or something." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye as Katie trotted past him to the bathroom.

She emerged a minute later and sat across from him with a sniff. "You know, I was wondering about that gun. I haven't seen anything like it before."

Dare smiled at her as he cleaned it with a rag. "I doubt you'll see anything quite like this, Katie." He said warmly. "This was my mother's gun. She gathered up the best parts she could find from all different sorts of pistols and put them together to make this. She called it Red Empress. She even wrote the initials in the grip."

Katie looked closely at the carefully carved 'R.E.'. "Why'd she call it that?" She wondered, before adding, "Besides it being painted red."

"I'm pretty sure she spent a lot of time coming up with name that had the same initials as her own." Dare replied humorously. "Her name was Rachel Elizabeth. She was Ranger, a form of law enforcement who would wander for weeks, even months at a time, righting wrongs and protecting the innocent. She also called it that…"

He leaned in and cleared his throat. "She also called it that because she did something to the barrel that carves the bullets as they fly out of it. It makes them barbed, and the bullets make the enemies bleed." The sniper chuckled. "Her favorite target was the crotch. She used to say, 'what do you get when you shoot a man in the crotch with a barbed bullet? A Red Empress."

Katie laughed loudly, before covering her mouth and trying to restrain her giggling. "She sounds fun," She managed through giggle fits. "I would've liked to meet her."

Dare's smile faded slightly. "She would've liked to meet you. In some ways, you kind of remind me of her."

The blonde bruiser titled her head curiously. "I look like your mother?" She asked.

Dare snorted loudly. "No. No offense, Katie, but you look nothing like my mother. She had blonde hair, sure, but it was more sunshine yellow than gold, like yours. She was tan, and had deep blue eyes, and a smile that charmed many a person out of a drink, their pants, then their caps. She was probably the toughest woman I've ever met, and you're a close second." He explained. "She was also kind, caring and loving."

Seeing his mood dip a little, Katie asked. "What happened to them, if you don't mind me asking?"

He sighed quietly. "They died when I was ten, during an ambush on their post. A band of slavers attacked them, killing everyone at the outpost. But, they didn't survive, either. They found my parents lying next to each other, covered in holes, the ground around them ankle-deep in spent shells and dead bodies." Dare reached into his shirt and pulled his dog tag out. "Besides their guns, this is all I have of them. And I lost my dad's rifle."

The blonde reached across the table and grasped his hand comfortingly. "We'll find it, Dare." She promised. "We'll get it back for you."

"Thanks, Katie." He replied with a small smile, getting back to cleaning his pistol.

Katie swallowed hesitantly. "My mother died the day I was born." She revealed quietly. "Even though I'm named after her, I've only seen her face in the pictures my dad kept. I look a lot like her."

"I'm sorry, Katie." He murmured, patting her hand.

"And even though I've never met her, I still miss her, you know?" She said, her green eyes watering. "I always wondered what might have happened if she survived…if giving birth to me hadn't killed her. Would I still be in Vault 101, fixing pipes and kicking the Tunnel Snake's asses?"

The sniper set his gun aside and reached over the table, taking her hands in his. "I can't say, Katie, because I don't know, but I do know this: I'm glad you left the Vault, and I know this will sound selfish, because even if the Wasteland is a terrible place, you and Amata and Clover have given me something I wished for. Companions. Friends." He sighed. "After my parents died, I trained myself into the ground, trying to follow in their footsteps. And even though I had Uncle Moore, I was alone."

Katie squeezed his hands gently. "You don't have to say anymore, Dare. I know what you mean." She sniffed and shook her head. "I was the same, when I was a kid. I was too different from everyone else. Always more interested in reading Grognak, or playing baseball than playing doctor or with dolls. Even my dad, though he tried to put up a happy facade, was always sad. And I felt like a stranger in a Vault full of people. Then, I met Amata."

"She was your first friend?" Dare asked gently.

"Yeah. I'd known her since I was able to walk, but we grew distant as we got older. Then, she approached me when we were nine. She wanted to play with me again because the other girls were treating her differently for being the Overseer's daughter." She explained. "We became best friends almost instantly. Even though we were different, we still fit together perfectly. The thought of leaving the Vault without her was…not possible. I love her like we have the same mother and shared a crib. Even my dad feels like he was more _our_ dad than just mine."

Dare stood from the table and came around it, Katie rising to meet him as they embraced each other tightly.

"I miss my dad, Dare." She whispered softly, her voice thick. "I want to see him again, hug him again and hear his voice telling me everything's going to be alright."

"We'll find him, Katie." Dare promised, his cheek rubbing against her soft blonde hair. "I promise."

They stayed together for a few minutes, waiting for the storm of emotions to calm down. Eventually, they composed themselves enough and pulled away. "Thank you, Dare." Katie murmured, wiping her eyes. "I needed to say that, to talk about it."

"I was just returning the favor." He replied softly.

She laughed and stepped forward, hugging him again. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, enjoying her warmth.

A few minutes later, he yawned. "We should get to bed." Dare muttered grudgingly.

"Let's stay like this for a little while longer." Katie whispered, squeezing him tightly.

Dare couldn't find it in himself to refuse.

…

When they did eventually separate, they headed up the stairs to their respective rooms. Outside of the room she shared with Amata, Katie turned and hugged Dare again. "Thank you, Dare." She said after kissing his cheek and stepping away.

He blinked in surprise. "For what?"

She shrugged. "For being you."

He arched an eyebrow at her in question, before shaking his head. "I'm just trying to do the right thing." He said quietly, before smiling at her. "Good night, Katie."

"Night, Dare." She opened her door and made to step in, but stopped and watched the sniper enter his room and flick the light on, leaving his door wide open as he prepared his bed. Looking in her room, she saw Amata sleeping peacefully on her bed. Biting her lip, Katie glanced between her best friend and the room of the man who had quickly become very important to her.

Making her decision, the former Vault-Dweller closed her door softly, before padding into Dare's room, swinging the door shut behind her.

…

…

…

 **A/N: God, emotional scenes like that are hard to write. Too close man, too close. And no, Dare and Katie didn't have sex at the end, they just slept together after revealing a lot personal hurts. It's too damn soon for something like that. Despite their differences, they have quite a bit in common with each other.**

 **Also, the Armory: It's an actual place in Fallout 3. I was doing research, searching for places around Scrapyard, Minefield and the Regulator HQ, when I saw Wheaton Armory. I was like, 'what's that? I've never heard of it.' Then I saw it and I thought it was perfect. It had most of the weapons they needed, and plenty of ammo and materials.**

 **And it's Fallout. All that ammo they got will probably last a month. The armory was a boon, but it didn't set them for life.**

 **I also have little weapon progression charts for all the characters.**

 **Amata, Medic: Main Weapon: Assault Rifle - Laser Rifle - ?(Wazer Wifle?)**

 **Secondary: 10mm Pistol -?**

 **Melee: Security baton -?**

 **Heavy Weapon: ?**

 **Clover, Off-Tank: Main Weapon: Combat Shotgun -?**

 **Secondary: 10mm. SMG -?**

 **Melee: Super Sledge**

 **Heavy: Missile Launcher -?**

 **Katie, Main Tank: Main Weapon: Minigun -?**

 **Secondary: Sawed-off Shotgun -?**

 **Melee: Sledgehammer - Super Sledge**

 **Heavy Weapon: Missile Launcher -?**

 **Dare, Ranged/Rogue: Main Weapon: Hunting Rifle ( -?) / Sniper Rifle ( -?)**

 **Secondary: 10mm. Pistol (-Red Empress) / .357 Magnum (-Justice, .44 Magnum)**

 **Melee: Combat Knife -? -?**

 **Heavy Weapon:?**

 **The '?' don't mean I don't know what they're getting, just that I don't want to reveal them yet, as a few are minor spoilers. It'll be interesting to see what people think they might be.**

 **I gave them the weapons they have so that they're balanced, i.e. minigun for mid-range, sawed-off for close range for Katie, laser rifle for mid-range, pistol for close range for Amata, shotgun for close range, SMG for mid-range for Clover, ect., ect. Along with a melee weapon as a hand-to-hand option.**

 **So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Dare To Wander; next chapter, a few more errands are run, and Katie comes to a decision that sets the broader story in motion. Look forward to it, because I look forward to writing it.**

 **If you liked the chapter, leave a review, and if you have questions, PM me and I might answer them. Jinchuriki of the World-Eater was updated just on Friday, and so was The Guardian of the Avatar, if you like those stories or want to read something else by me. A new chapter for The Life With Monster Girls will shortly follow, along with Still Not A Hero.**

 **As always, thanks to NorthSouthGorem for editing. Why not check his works out?**

 **Stay Awesome.**

 **~Soleneus**

 **P.S.: And before anyone says anything, my parents are still alive. Not together, but still alive, and I've spent excessive time (years, in some cases) living away from the other. It's a painful thing to miss your parents, even if they're just a phone call away. It's even worse when they're gone.**

 **So, what I'm saying is, call your parents or hug them or something. You'll appreciate it at night, right when you're drifting off with the memory of their warmth on your mind. I know I'm going to.**

 **Or just hug anyone. Hugs are nice.**

 **Stay Awesome Some More.**

 **~still Soleneus**


	10. Ants, Mirelurks and Mutants, Oh My!

Dare enjoyed waking up in the arms of a woman. It had been happening more often lately, first with Silver, then with Clover and now with Katie. His years of traveling usually resulted in him sleeping alone, since he wasn't one to buy pleasurable company and having sex in the middle of the Wasteland, even in a camp, was dangerous. The noise could attract attention, from raiders or the nightwatch and it could keep the others up at night; not to mention that the scent could attract certain predators that would definitely ruin an amorous encounter.

And then there were the times he had woken up with unwanted company. Dare had been lucky during those encounters, in the sense that his attackers had all been women, and that another caravan guard had heard the noise and come to investigate.

But those were memories best left behind, and Dare found his thoughts drifting away as Katie mumbled in her sleep and pulled him closer. For all her hard planes of muscle, she was surprisingly soft. And also a cuddler.

Glancing over her shoulder, Dare spotted her Pip-Boy sitting on his desk, his sharp eyes picking out the clock. It was about seven in the morning, which was a little later than the sniper preferred to awaken, but he had been up late last night, so it could be excused. And that mirelurk nest wasn't going anywhere.

He was tempted to stay and rest more, but the day waited for no one. Dare tried to slip out of Katie's arms, but she grumbled something and squeezed him tightly. Thanking his deity for his natural endurance, he carefully wrested her arms away from him and made to leave, only for her to reach out and snag him back against her.

Dare sighed. It was cute at first, but he wanted to get up. Breakfast wasn't going to make itself and Clover didn't have the best idea of what constituted 'acceptable breakfast food'. Deciding that the subtle path wasn't working, Dare rolled around in Katie's grasp and pinched her nose shut. She grunted and drew back, wiping her nose on his shoulder. Since that didn't work, he reached up and patted the blonde's cheek. "Katie. It's time to wake up." He said clearly.

The former Vault dweller yawned and finally released him, sitting up and stretching. Scratching the back of her head, she groggily turned to Dare, blinking slowly. "Hey, Dare." She greeted sleepily, "What time is it?"

He lightly tossed her Pip-Boy to her, pulling a shirt on afterwards. "Breakfast time. We've got things to do."

Latching her computer to her wrist, Katie checked the time and stood from his bed, giving the sniper a brief hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for listening last night, and for telling me about your mom. Let's do it again sometime." She smiled and left the room to gather her clothes from the one she shared with Amata.

An hour later, they were sitting around the table enjoying breakfast and listening to Galaxy News Radio. " _-And in other news, it appears that the town of Grayditch has gone silent, and seems to be on fire. Someone might want to check that out, but bring the burn salve just in case. This Three Dog and you're listening to Galaxy News Radio, telling you the truth, no matter how bad it hurts. And now, some m-"_

Static buzzed through the speakers, making Dogmeat whine in distress and rendering everything but a few seconds of music inaudible. Frowning, Dare stood from his chair and examined his radio, popping the back panel off for a closer look. "Well, it's not the radio," he relayed to the others, switching it off. "Looks like the signal's been interrupted."

"Grayditch…" Katie murmured, buckling her armor on. "That's close by, right?"

"About a twenty minute walk," Clover answered, "Why? You wanna go investigate?"

The blonde shrugged. "Yeah, I mean, we aren't all needed to kill a couple of mirelurks, right?" She asked, looking to the sniper.

He nodded blithely. "True. I want you to come with me, Amata. Though we're not supposed to kill them, mirelurks have tough shells, and a laser rifle is more effective than a hunting rifle." Dare explained as he pulled his duster on.

"Alright," Amata agreed, checking her pouches. "So, we're splitting up? Katie and Clover are going to Grayditch while we go to that memorial?"

"Yes," Dare answered simply, securing his weapons. "We should go along the river banks before splitting up, I have something I want to show you."

Making sure they were fully armed, the group exited their home and Megaton, heading south. They passed by the intact ruins of a Super-Duper Mart, having changed quite a bit since Dare cleaned it out. The parking lot had been cleared, the inert bodies of Pre-War cars pushed onto their sides and built into walls while the rubble and cracked concrete was pulled up and set aside to be broken down. That made way for fresh earth that could be tilled for some of the hardier crops, like corn, tatoes or mutfruit. That would be a boon for Megaton, which relied on trading and caravans for food, since they had very little land inside the walls and a working purifier.

There were a few guards milling about the area, watching out for wasteland predators while others worked on the beginnings of crops or repairing the inside of the building. A few waved towards them as they passed, recognizing the small group that had done so much for Megaton.

Approaching the irradiated river, they distantly heard the cracks of gunfire interspersed with quiet booms of explosives. Going low, Dare led them closer to the source of combat, huddling behind a large rock while drawing his sniper rifle. Peering through the scope, the sniper clicked his tongue and nodded. "Thought so," he muttered, passing the rifle to Katie as her best friend looked through her monocular. "Super mutants."

There were three of them, and they matched Dare's description perfectly, though he had left out a few details. They had greenish-yellow skin covering thick layers of muscle, with long limbs that seemed gangly, somehow. None of them had hair on their heads, their lips pulled back to reveal dirty teeth in a permanent sneer, with hateful beady eyes peering under knotted brows. They wore armor that looked to have been made from scavenged car parts and wielded ill-kept but working weapons.

Amata shuddered as she shook her head. Despite their monstrous appearance and their angry shouting, audible even from that distance, she felt sorry for them in a fashion. With how dumb they seemed to be, it was possible they didn't know any better. Maybe they had emerged from their cave into Wasteland that hated them on sight, and were simply trying to survive like so many others?

It wouldn't stop her from killing them when they attacked, but it did give her pause.

"What are their weaknesses?" Katie asked shrewdly, handing the rifle back to Dare.

He arched an eyebrow at her, nodding towards the super mutants who were spewing invectives at the same rate as their bullets towards a group of raiders. "You examined them, saw what they look like, how they act. You tell me."

The blonde grinned at the unspoken challenge. "Alright, Mr. Sniper. They're big, loud and yellow, so they're easy to spot and get the jump on. Or sneak around and avoid a fight," she added, seeing Dare blink. "Their heads are uncovered, as well their knees and shoulders, which means they're vulnerable to headshots and crippling shots. Their armor is made from scrap, so a few body shots would do some damage and once again, they're big, which makes them pretty easy to hit. Did I miss anything?"

Amata interjected before Dare could speak. "They don't take cover, but the ones with the assault rifles are covering for the one with missile launcher, so they have some understanding of tactics…though, the one with launcher nearly hit one of the others, so they don't care if the other super mutants live or die."

A ghost of a smile flitted across the sniper's face. "Good. These are the lowest rung on the ladder when it comes to super mutants, though. The older ones are tougher. Speaking of," he sighted down on the mutant carrying the launcher and squeezed the trigger, causing its head to explode in a spray of gore. "Remember to aim for their eyes. A headshot between the eyes or to the forehead isn't guaranteed to kill them."

To demonstrate, he landed the next bullet right above a super mutant's brow. The mutant's head whipped back and it cradled its damaged forehead before shouting angrily, right in time for the next shot to fly into its mouth and separate the top half of its head from the rest.

Dare picked off the last mutant before reloading and shouldering his rifle, moving down to join the others as they walked to the riverbank. The raiders that had been fighting the mutants had lost, two of them dead while the other lay on the ground, clutching the stump of her arm and moaning until Amata put her out her misery. They picked through the trio of corpses and recovered a few handfuls of bullets and chems, before dumping them in the river.

"Why did we do that?" Amata asked as they shoved the last body into the murky water.

"It'll attract mirelurks," Dare answered, backing away from the river. "Moira doesn't want me to kill any of the mirelurks in the nest, so I'll need to sneak in. And for that, I'll need the shell of mirelurk. Plus, their meat is very tasty."

Clover clapped her hands. "Well, have fun with that," she said hurriedly, nudging Katie and jerking her thumb at a column smoke in the distance. "Grayditch is that way. Let's go see what's up."

"We'll meet back here when we're done!" Dare called after the heavily-armored pair, getting a wave from the blonde in response. He turned to find Amata nodding at Clover's back with a questioning look. "She's afraid of mirelurks."

"Oh," she muttered, nodding. Their attention was drawn to the water as it bubbled around the corpses, large whitish-gray shells emerging from the river with rattling clicks. "That's understandable."

The biggest mirelurk looked up at them with a flat, inhuman face of ridged chitin and let out a crackling, clicking call before swimming towards them. "Shoot it in the face," Dare told Amata, unholstering Justice. Dogmeat barked threateningly as the crab-like creature scuttled onto the bank and charged at them with an odd loping gait. Bullets cracked and lasers seared the air as the pair of them fired on the mirelurk, bringing it down with quiet rattle.

Dare holstered Justice and jogged over to the dead animal, kneeling and using his knife to cut away the big and round top shell. Amata cautiously joined him, keeping her laser rifle ready and her eyes trained on the other mirelurks still feasting. She jumped at a loud ripping sound, turning to find Dare tearing the shell off of body, exposing dark grey meat beneath. The smell made her grimace and turn away, coughing.

"It smells bad now, but once you season it with some herbs and get it on a grill, it's one of the best foods in the Wasteland." Dare explained as he finished cutting away the connective tissue. "The others won't attack us unless we get too close to their food. This one was just being territorial. Hold my coat, please."

Holding her nose, the brunette former Vault Dweller took his duster and slung it over her shoulder as Dare hefted the shell on his back with a grunt. "Why do you need the shell again?" Amata asked in a muffled voice while Dogmeat took bites out of the exposed mirelurk flesh.

Beginning to walk towards the distant shape of the Anchorage Memorial, Dare adjusted the shell into a more comfortable position. "I'm going to use it to sneak into the mirelurk nest and plant the observation unit within," he explained, "Mirelurks don't have the best eyesight or sense of smell, so as long as I stay out of their sight, they won't realize I'm not one of them. Plus, Moira told me the nest is _inside_ the memorial, and they don't build those in dry places, which means there's a way for water to get in, like an outflow pipe."

"So you'll wear the shell and swim in through the pipe, plant the unit and be out before they even realize you're there!"Amata concluded with a bright smile.

Dare nodded with a light smile. "Exactly. I won't have to fight any mirelurks and that will make Moira happy. Everybody wins."

Approaching the memorial, the pair crossed the bridge connecting the man-made island to the ruined road, finding the remains of other Wastelanders lying around the base of the monument. Given the way the bodies were stripped and decomposing, they hadn't been bothered with in awhile. Walking around the perimeter of the small island, they spotted what a camp a bit away on the north bank. "We should check that out," Amata stated pointing at the large tent walled off by a ruined truck.

"If we have time," Dare acknowledged. Dogmeat's ears stood up and he looked at the water before loping off, barking. The two humans followed the mutt to the edge of the water where the dog was pointing at the ground with his nose, the glint of metal shining in the overcast sunlight. It was the outflow pipe, visible just above the water level. "Good boy, Dogmeat," the sniper praised, stroking the dog's head and scratching his ears before pulling his weapons and metal plating off. Setting the heavier bits of his armor aside, Dare secured one of his pouches to his chest, containing the observation unit, Red Empress and a trio of stimpacks and making sure it was tightly sealed.

Donning the shell over his head, Dare nodded to Amata before carefully walking into the river until the rounded top of the shell was all that showed out of the water. With only his eyes and his nose above the water, the sniper swam into the pipe, looking through a small gap in the front of the shell. He found a rusting metal grate covering the entrance that took a bit of effort, and a ringing screech, to get loose, but he managed and swam under the memorial.

With the shell on his back and over his head, Dare was forcefully drawn back to his childhood. Once, when he had been young, around six, he had killed a young mirelurk and worn the shell on his head as a hat. His parents had found his antics cute, until the mother mirelurk showed up and it stopped being funny. Though his parents managed to distract it, Dare had been the one to finish it off with his little pistol, being the first Wasteland creature he killed that was bigger than him.

They had eaten well that night, and the mirelurk stew had tasted all the better with the proud smile his mother wore as his father boasted of his achievement to Uncle Moore.

Shaking himself out of his recollection, Dare emerged from the pipe into the bowels of the memorial and the nest. A few mirelurks lurked about the upper levels of the area, either taking care of the bundles of eggs or milling about and clicking. As quietly as he could, Dare swam up to a partially sunken platform that had the biggest nest sitting near the water. Planting his feet on the metal side, the sniper carefully levered himself mostly out of the water, quickly digging in his pouch for the observer unit.

With slow and steady hand, Dare pushed the metal cylinder into the spongy material of the nest between two large eggs before switching it on. Then, unable to help himself, he reached out and tapped one of the eggs, and when it didn't rustle or shake, he removed it from the nest with a quiet squelch. Tucking it into his pouch, he did the same for another before deciding he had pushed his luck far enough and swam away.

Mirelurk eggs were big enough that one could feed three people when stretched, and two would make a large breakfast. A large, tasty breakfast.

After a few more minutes of swimming, Dare emerged from the pipe out into the open air and climbed up on the bank, finding Dogmeat waiting for him next to the pile of guns and armor. Amata was missing, however, her tracks leading from the spot towards the camp. Shrugging, Dare drained himself of extra water and dried himself off before putting his gear back in the right place.

…

Amata watched as the shell Dare was under disappear into the pipe, sitting on the rocky beach next to Dogmeat. With nothing to do but wait, she eyed the nearby camp with a searching gaze. Besides the tent, there weren't any signs of occupation. Making a decision, she turned to the dog next to her. "Stay here, okay? Wait for Dare." He barked in understanding, panting as she scratched his ears.

Taking up her laser rifle, Amata crept towards the camp with her senses on high alert. As she passed by one of the trucks, she heard a disgusting slobbering noise and what seemed like footsteps. To her horror, what rounded the tent didn't have feet.

It looked like a human torso, bereft of arms at the shoulders and grotesquely elongated. In the place of feet, it had multiple sets of arms that it scuttled along on, three long lash-like tongues flailing out of it's mouth. Shrieking, Amata fired on the creature, the laser burn making it groan out and flail, a murky green ball of liquid spewing from its mouth.

She rolled away from the spit, not wanting any of that touching her and continued firing. Her next trio of shots hit the creature's body, turning it into a pile of ash. Amata sighed in relief, before looking around for the source of a bubbling, hissing noise. Looking down, she found that some of the spit had sprayed on her armor and was eating away at it. Yelping, she fished a bottle of water out of her pouch and poured some of the liquid over the acid, washing it away.

Sighing, Amata tensed as she heard more slobbering and choked gasping noises, finding another torso-creature clumsily climbing through a gap between the trucks making up the perimeter. She fired as soon as she saw it, peppering it with red lasers and avoiding the acidic spit until it fell with a gurgle.

Sure she was safe for the moment, Amata holstered her laser rifle and poked through the camp, stopping when she heard quiet crying. "Hello?" She asked quietly, furtively looking for the source. Hearing a gasp coming from the tent, the former Vault Dweller parted the opening and peeked inside.

Sitting in the middle of the tent, a young woman about her age sat with her hands tied in front of her. "You have to help me, please!" She called desperately, "They kidnapped me…they're gonna eat me…"

Hurrying over, Amata worked to untie the surprisingly complicated knots binding the captive's wrists together. "Don't worry, I'm going to get you out of here," she promised, focusing on her task. So focused, she didn't realize anything was wrong until the captive gasped in fear.

Turning around, she came face-to-face with a super mutant, leering down at her with crudely fashioned club in its hands, rusted nails sticking from the tip. "Another stupid human for the green stuff!" It yelled, swinging at her.

Amata dodged away from the blow, grabbing her rifle and taking aim when, in a surprising burst of speed, it lunged at her and smacked the weapon out of her hands, laughing mockingly as she gasped in pain at the nails ripping through the skin of her fingers. The mutant backhanded her in the face, sending her rolling across the ground. Coming to a stop, she grabbed her pistol and brought it up when the super mutant kicked it out of her hand and stomped on her stomach.

Gasping for breath, black spots dancing in her eyes with the raucous laughter of of the mutant ringing in her ears, Amata rolled on the ground clutching her stomach. _Is this really how it ends?_ She wondered, her mind racing. _I only came this far, after all I learned and trained?_

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted her pistol lying on the dirt as the mutant loudly looked for more rope or chains. _No!_ Amata shouted in her mind, digging her fingers into the earth and pulling herself towards her weapon. _I won't leave Katie alone! I won't disappoint Dare!_

Her scrabbling alerted the mutant, who snatched up her laser rifle as it spun to face her. "Stupid human! Lay down and die!" It shouted, trying to fit its thick fingers into the trigger guard, as Amata snatched up her pistol and was rolling over to face it.

Barking rang through the air as Dogmeat came bounding through the tent flap, lunging at the mutant and biting down around its ankle. As it roared in pain, a brief swirl of leather was all Amata saw before Dare jumped on the super mutant's back, the blade of his knife flashing as he stabbed it into the area where a kidney would be on a human, over and over again.

The pain drove the mutant to its knees, the sniper climbing up on its back and driving his knife into its neck, ripping the blade out through the front. Pushing off, dropping the mutant to the ground, Dare glanced at Amata she squeezed off a round, shooting the mutant in the head. Wiping his knife clean of blood, he hurried over to her side and knelt next to her. "You alright?" he asked quickly, gently taking her bloodied hands.

"He stomped on my stomach," Amata gasped, the pain rushing to the forefront as the adrenaline rush faded. Even through the throbbing in her abdomen, she could feel the warmth of Dare's calloused hands as he cradled her bloody digits and injected small measures from a stimpak into her wrists. Amata watched as her skin knitted back together, leaving whole flesh marred by thin pink scars.

Dare injected the rest directly into her abdominals, storing the empty syringe for later. "Let the chem do its work and rest for a bit, okay?" He said, getting a nod and relieved sigh as the stimpak went about healing her. Turning to the still tied-up woman, Dare approached her carefully, drawing his knife to saw away at her bonds. "Easy," he muttered, "I'm not going to hurt you. What's your name?"

The young woman with dark red hair faltered under his intense gaze. "I-I'm Joan, Joan Einse. Wh-who are you?" She asked nervously.

"I'm called Dare, Joan. Her name is Amata," he replied calmly, cutting the rope and releasing her. Holding a hand out, Joan took it after rubbing the marks on her wrists. "Where are you from?"

"Rivet City," She answered quietly, looking to Amata with worried and guilty eyes. "Are you going to be okay?"

Amata waved her off with a grunt as she pushed herself to her feet. "I'm fine, just a little tender." She said, retrieving her laser rifle.

"Well, Joan, I don't think you're in any shape to get back to Rivet City right now," Dare held up a hand to silence her protest, and she clammed up immediately. "We can escort you there later, probably tomorrow. In the meantime, you can come with us back to Megaton."

"Are-are you sure?" Joan asked nervously, glancing furtively around the empty tent.

Dare's eye twitched almost invisibly. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it," he said shortly. "Can you defend yourself?"

She patted her pockets down, finding nothing but a handful of caps and a bottle of Rad-X. "Er, no…I did have an SMG I was pretty good with, but I think the muties left that behind when they…"

"Alright, Amata, give her your pistol." He ordered, nodding towards the red head. Amata arched an eyebrow at him, but handed her secondary off without a word, along with a trio of clips. "Good," Dare muttered, before unholstering Red Empress and passing it to the former Vault Dweller. "You can use that for now."

Knowing the weapon was important to him, Amata handled the red-striped pistol carefully and felt a happy burn in her chest at his sign of trust. Stripping a pair of grenades from the dead mutant, the newly-formed trio made their way up past the memorial, heading towards the spot where the other mutants had fought the raiders. The corpses had an assault rifle, a hunting rifle and a rocket launcher between them, none in very good condition. Along with the weapons, they had a about thirty caps and three stimpaks.

Joan took the hunting rifle and helped them push the large, heavy bodies into the river, the mirelurks from before having reduced the raiders to bloody skeletons. The bipedal crustaceans chittered at them for interrupting them, but began to feed on the mutated corpses with gusto.

"I don't see Katie or Clover," Amata reported, peering at the other bank. "They might need help at Grayditch."

"You want to go see what they're up to?" Dare asked, strapping the missile launcher to his back.

"Mhm," She nodded, unable to stop herself from feeling a niggling sense of worry.

"Alright then," the sniper agreed. "Are you up for that, Joan?"

"I am, yeah," the redhead replied. Having a gun in her hand had boosted her confidence, so at least she wasn't stuttering any longer.

Making their way up north, they crossed over a pitted bridge, picking across the gaps in the concrete and avoiding the crumbling edges. Safely across, they followed the path Katie and Clover had taken, finding the bodies of bullet-riddled raiders along the way. Apparently, the blonde heavy-weapons enthusiast had gotten to try her new gun out. Continuing on, they found Grayditch ahead of them, most of the buildings quietly smoldering along with burnt corpses. Lying among the bodies were the still forms of giant, rusty reddish-orange ants.

"What the hell?" Joan whispered, having seen ants that before, but never in that color. "I think…I think the ants did this."

"Giant ants that can breathe fire, you mean?" Dare asked dryly. "That's reassuring."

Stepping around the bodies, they approached the only intact shack and knocked on the door. "Who is it?!" A familiar, husky female voice called.

"Clover, it's us," Dare called back, "we finished at the memorial and saw that you guys hadn't come back, so we came to check on you."

"Come in, no need to shout through the door," the former slave grumbled from the other side.

Shrugging at a bewildered Amata, he pushed the door open and entered the shack, finding Clover sitting in a chair in the corner with her head hands, and Katie lying sprawled on a couch. Both looked fine except for the soot on their armor and light burns on their faces. "What happened to you guys?" Amata asked, hurrying over to check on her friend.

"Long story," Katie muttered, limply turning her head to look at them, her eyes focusing on Joan. "Who's the girl?"

"Joan," Dare introduced, letting Clover lean against his side. "We found her taken captive at a super mutant camp near the memorial. What about you?"

The blonde sighed. "Ehhh…we came across some raiders on the way here and I got to try my minigun on them (which was kick-ass, by the way), and when we got here, we found the place on fire with the giant ants spewing fire," she explained, waving her hands for emphasis, "We killed them all without much trouble, though I did kinda get lit on fire once. Or twice. There were about thirty of the damn things, and they were pretty tough."

"After we cleared the place out, a little kid, the only survivor, came out of one of those shelters and told us what he knew," Clover picked up, "Apparently, some scientist recently moved in and a few months later, these fire ants rushed out of the nearby metro system. We told the kid to hide again, then went into the metro to take care of the source."

Katie blew a harsh breath. "Pfft. Down there, we found more of the little bastards and that scientist, Lesko. Turns out he wanted to fix whatever made them giant in the first place, take them back to their Pre-War size."

"He failed, obviously, and somehow managed to mutate them further," Dare interjected, a wry twist to his lips. "That is the exact opposite."

"Yup," Clover barked out a short, rough chuckle. "He wanted us to kill the ant guards around the queen and leave her to him so that he could work on reversing the fire-breathing thing."

Amata balked. "Please tell me you didn't do that," she said, looking at her friend with concern.

Katie waved her concern off. "Of course not, that idiot screwed up and got a bunch of people killed and didn't care, except that they messed up his research." She snorted ungracefully. "We killed the queen and destroyed most of the stuff he was using to mutate them, leaving just enough for him to experiment with a few left over eggs. He wasn't too happy about that, but I made him see the error of his ways."

The dark way Clover laughed in reply to her statement spoke volumes about what they had done to 'make him see the error of his ways'. "He eventually came around and offered to inject us with some treated chemicals taken from the ants that would make us strong or make our eyes better, but he only had one dose of each." She explained, rubbing her eyes.

"You let some idiot mutate you, after the whole debacle with these ants?" Amata incredulously. "I thought you were smarter than this."

Dare nodded in agreement. "That does sound unwise." He commented blandly, though his expression was far from pleased.

Clover waved him off. "I hacked his terminal and read that he was actually a pretty good doctor when it came to humans, and turned his focus to ants for a challenge. But seriously, a chance to make ourselves stronger and almost fireproof? Of course we were going to take it! I got the one for the senses and blondie got the one for muscles."

"And that's why you're both lying around a shack; because mutations can be painful," Dare finished for them, crossing his arms. "I'm betting you have quite the headache, Clover."

The white-haired woman groaned and clutched her head. "Like I've got a pair of forks jammed in my eyes," she muttered, jumping as the sniper stuck a needle in her neck and injected a bit of Med-X into her system.

"That should help, but not forever," he remarked, sanitizing the needle with his lighter before tossing it to Amata, who gave the rest to Katie. "It'll be enough to get us home. Where's this kid you talked to?"

A quiet cough made Amata and Dare look into the other corner, where a kid with dirty blond hair sat, looking sheepish. "Hi, I'm Bryan," he greeted them with a short wave. His face was long and marked with soot, and his eyes were dull.

"Hey, Brian." Dare replied with a tight smile. "Do you have anywhere to go?"

"N-not really," the kid replied, "I have an aunt in Rivet City, though. Her name's Vera."

"Vera Weatherly?" Joan asked in surprise. "I know her!"

Brian looked up at her in confusion. "You do?"

"Yeah, I'm from Rivet City," she replied with a small smile. "You know, Dare said he would help me get back there tomorrow; you could come too." The redhead glanced at the sniper hopefully. "That wouldn't be too much trouble, would it?"

Dare shook his head. "No, that would be fine. We'd just have to be careful; travel down the banks to avoid the raiders and super mutants. But, for now, we should get back to Megaton." Clover and Katie stood, joining them with their weapons ready, though they looked tired.

Exiting the shack, they began to head away from Grayditch. "Hey, um, Sir?" Brian asked carefully, "Are you part of a gang?"

The sniper thought for a second. "Sort of. Why?" The Regulators would count as a gang, right?

"Well, I saw a guy pass through town a couple days ago, with the same coat as yours." He replied.

Dare paused. "Same coat…must be a Regulator, or someone with a similar sense of style," he said to himself. "A couple of days ago…did he say where he was going?"

The kid frowned, thinking back. "He traded some ammo with my…with my papa, and I heard him talk about Arl...Arlton? A cemetery nearby. He said something about a 'notorious criminal' he was chasing."

The sniper frowned. "A Regulator was going after a notorious criminal, and he hasn't been seen in days…I should probably check up on him." He turned to Brian. "Did you mean Arlington Cemetery?"

The boy brightened. "That's right! It's back that way, but you have to walk around the streets 'cause the buildings fell over."

"Good to know." Dare glanced at the ladies. "What do you think about taking a bit of a detour?"

"I'm up for it," Katie replied easily, hefting her minigun. Amata, Clover and Joan agreed swiftly.

Turning back and trotting around Grayditch, the group of five soon found themselves pushing through a rusted fence and entering a wide field. Every few feet, there was a white cross planted in the ground, to mark the graves of soldiers fallen before the world had nuked itself into oblivion. A solemn silence descended over the group as they stepped around the graves, heading towards the monument in the center.

On the steps, they found a dead Regulator lying on his back, sightless eyes peering at the cloudy sky above while resting in a pool of blood. Dare knelt near the man, brushing the eyes closed before tapping his forehead, his chest above his lungs and made a short slash over his throat with his thumb. Respects paid, the sniper searched through the duster, emptying it of useful items.

He found a small bag of caps and a few clips of assault rifle ammo, but no weapon. Along with that, there was a holotape that he handed off to Amata to play as he stripped the duster off of the body. Apparently this Regulator had forgotten that, while a long coat certainly added presence to a person, it was still just leather without any armor.

Amata slid the tape into her Pip-Boy, playing it back. " _Notice to all good men and women seeking Lawful Bounties in the Capital Wastes:_

 _Let it be known that the murderous person known as Junders Plunkett, of fair complexion, average height, and missing one good eyeball, is offered for bounty, either dead or alive, for the sum of 1,000 caps or similar compensation of expended equipment and/or medical expense._

 _Junders Plunkett was last seen committing theft and murder in the township of Canterbury Commons. The apprehending hunter should exercise special caution, as the bounty is noted for an uncommon aptitude with small, concealable blades."_

"A thousand caps, huh?" Dare muttered, storing the duster away. "They must really want this guy dead." He looked down and saw a thin trail of blood leading away from the corpse, towards the only house in the area. "He's probably in there."

Leading the way towards the Pre-War house, which had most of the siding torn off, Dare drew Justice and stopped near the door. "Clover, come inside with me," the white-haired woman nodded and gripped her shotgun. "Katie, keep an eye on Brian and stay out sight. We might scare this guy outdoors, so be on guard."

Nodding in understanding, the sniper quietly opened the door and slipped inside with Clover following closely. While he was light-footed, her heavy armor made the floor creak loudly. Down below, a confused sound filtered up from the stairwell leading to the basement. Dare nodded at the stairs and Clover nodded, tightening her helmet before charging down, yelling at the top of her lungs.

There was a surprised shout before Dare burst in behind her, finding a shirtless man with an eyepatch wielding a pair of spiked knuckles swinging at Clover, who was letting the blows deflect off of her metal armor. Aiming, Dare dropped the man with a pair of shots to the chest, followed by one to the head. "Nice work, Clover."

She smiled brightly at him, holstering her shotgun. "Thanks. Good shot, Dare."

Besides his spiked knuckles, Junders Plunkett didn't have anything else on him. Searching the rest of the house, however, yielded a few books, a few bottles of wine and a Vault-Tec bobblehead, which was wearing a cartoonish green top hat and holding large green plant with four leaves. After severing a finger from the bounty and wrapping it bandages, the pair left the house to find the others waiting outside, Brian playing with a happy Dogmeat.

"We're done. Let's head back to Megaton," he said, leading them out of the cemetery, heading directly towards the dark walls in the distance. Crossing the dried, cracked land, they came across a mostly-intact concrete building with sandbags out near the front. Under a set of metal stairs were a pile of corpses, and the reason behind those were also behind the sandbags.

There were three men, who wore combat armor painted black, except for the symbol of a white talon on the left side of their chests. They wielded common weapons, a pair of assault rifles and a laser one, which they immediately opened fire with.

Katie shoved Brian down behind a rock as the others took cover, bullets and lasers flying over their heads. Dare drew Red Empress and popped out of cover, firing a pair of shots before a red bolt lanced into his shoulder, making him grunt in pain and duck down. "Dare!" Amata called in worry.

"I'm fine!" he called back, "Katie! Covering fire!"

"On it!" The blonde called back, spooling up her minigun before stepping out and unleashing a storm of bullets their way.

The black-armored raiders dove for the sandbags, though one was too late as multiple rounds ripped through his chest, dropping him. While they cowered, Amata primed a grenade and lobbed it over the sandbags.

An explosion rang out as the two raiders jumped away, one falling to Katie while Clover drew her Super Sledge and charged across the distance. She slammed into the last one, bowling him over before smashing his head in with her hammer. Looking around, she noted that there were no more raiders, and none coming from the building. "Clear!" She called to the others.

Brian and Joan emerged from the rocks, looking down on the dead bodies. "Dare, are you alright?" Amata asked as she stepped up to him.

"I'm fine," he waved her off, tapping the metal plate on his shoulder. "My armor took the hit. We're close to home. Amata, Clover, clean that place out quickly and catch up."

"Gotcha," Clover acknowledged, moving into the building with the medic.

Dare, Katie, Brian and Joan moved ahead, climbing a short hill leading up to the wall surrounding Megaton, following it around to the entrance. Clover and Amata caught up a few minutes later, carrying the weapons and ammo gathered from the raiders, along with a set of salvaged combat armor. "Whoever those guys were, they weren't nice," Amata commented as they walked through the gates. "They had a flag with some kind of skull-faced bird, swooping down to carry off a crying baby."

Nothing said 'bad guy' more than implied infant violence.

Entering their house, they laid their acquired loot on the table. "You guys can settle in, I'm going to see Moira," Dare said, nodding to the two guests as he placed the two mirelurks eggs in the fridge. "Joan, Brian, you can take the room by the steps, it has two mattresses. Katie, Amata, you can double-up in my bed and I'll crash on the couch."

Clover arched an eyebrow at him, sending a teasing smirk his way. "You know you can come to my bed, Lover," she said with a flirting lilt to her voice. "I wouldn't mind at all."

He shrugged in reply with a faint smile. "I didn't want to assume." Removing his leather armor but keeping his duster on, Dare gathered a few pieces of salvage and a bottle of whiskey. "I'm having dinner with Moira tonight, so don't wait up for me. Wadsworth should be getting started on it in awhile, so you can use the bath while you wait."

Joan perked up. "You guys have a bath?!" She asked excitedly.

"I know, right?" Clover replied with a grin. "Come on, I'll show you how to fill it up."

The two Wastelanders disappeared into the bathroom, while Brian sat down on the couch with Dogmeat laying next to his feet and a comic in his hands. Amata set herself near the workbench with a turpentine-soaked rag, scrubbing at the black paint on the combat armor. Katie, on the other hand, waited for Dare at the door. "Actually, I'll go with you," she offered, now in her jumpsuit.

"Alright," Dare nodded, stepping out into Megaton. "You want to talk about something?"

The blonde looked at him in confusion. "How did you…" He sent a deadpan look her way. "...Right. I do, actually. I…I want to look for my father."

"Mm." He nodded in understanding. "We should talk to Moriarty, then. I don't like the man, but a lot of information comes through his bar."

"You knew I was going ask, weren't you?" Katie asked shrewdly.

Dare simply nodded. "When you were ready."

The blonde smiled to herself, quietly following behind the sniper as he walked up to Craterside Supply and knocked on the door. "Moira, it's me."

The door opened and the eccentric redhead greeted them with a smile. "Oh hey, Dare! And Katie. Are you joining us for dinner?"

"Oh, no," Katie denied, "I'm just talking with Dare."

"Okay, then. Dare, sorry, but dinner isn't ready yet," She said disappointedly. "I think I'll be done in about ten minutes."

"That's alright, I need to talk to Moriarty anyway. I brought this." He offered the bottle of wine to her, which Moira took gladly.

"Ooh, this is a good year, and it'll go great with the brahmin I'm making. Thanks, Dare!" She thanked gratefully, before closing the door.

Entering the bar, they found Rudy behind the counter, banging on the radio, the fuzzy signal of GNR coming through. "Stop banging on it, Rudy," Nova grouched, a cigarette in her fingers. "I told you, it's not the radio. The Enclave station comes in just fine, it's Galaxy News with the shit signal."

"Yeah, it went out this morning," Dare remarked, leaning on the bar. "Rudy, Nova."

The orange-haired prostitute smiled sultrily and wiggled her fingers at the sniper. "Hey Dare, what brings you to this corner of town? Finally come to take me up on my offer?"

The sniper smiled slightly. "Not today, Nova. I'm actually here to see Moriarty."

As if on cue, the round-set man stepped out from his back office. "And what can a fine, upstanding citizen like myself do for the local hero?" It was easy to hear the false sincerity underlying his greeting.

Dare nodded to Katie and stepped back, letting her take the lead. "A few months ago, a man came through here, wearing a Vault suit like mine. I'm looking for him." She explained briefly.

"That's all fine and dandy, little lass," Moriarty said sarcastically, "but why, pray tell, should _I_ tell you anything?"

"That man is my father, James," Katie replied shortly, his personality rubbing her the wrong way. "I need to find him."

The greasy bar owner leaned on the counter, smirking under his beard. "Oh, well that just tugs at my heartstrings, it does, truly." He said insincerely, "Since it matters so much to you, I'll offer the information to you for the low, low price of a hundred caps. Just a hundred caps and daddy-dearest's location is yours. Of course, if you don't have the money, there are _other_ ways to pay." Moriarty offered, eyeing her up and down lecherously.

The counter rattled as a small sack filled with caps hit the top. Dare glared silently at the bar owner, the promise of violence filling the air.

Scoffing, Moriarty swept the caps into his pocket. "Always the good guy, aren't ya?" he asked Dare sourly. "Your dear old dad went southeast, into D.C. to the Galaxy New Radio station. Good day."

Nodding to Nova and Rudy, the pair left the the bar and stopped outside of Moira's shop. "Galaxy New Radio," Katie repeated to herself, closing her eyes and taking deep breath, committing the name to memory. "The first step to finding my dad."

Dare reached out and gripped her shoulder gently. "We'll be with you every step of the way, Katie." He stated firmly.

She smiled softly at the sniper, stepping in and hugging him tightly. "I know you will, Dare." She stepped away and waved as she went back home. "Have fun with Moira."

He waved to her before entering Craterside Supply, finding the building filled with the mouthwatering scent of cooked, seasoned meat emanating from the back room. Stepping in and hanging his coat and hat on a hook, then locking the door behind him, Dare found Moira standing in front of her stove, humming a happy tune as she cooked. "Hey Moira."

Jumping, the eccentric shopkeep spun around, bumping against the stove as she clutched her chest. "Dare!" She called in mock admonishment. "Don't do that, you sneaky sniper!"

Said sniper found himself smiling at her cheerful voice. "Sorry, can't help it."

Moira grinned at him, turning back to the stove and plating their meal. "Well, I hope that sneakiness served you well today when you went to the memorial." She looked back at him over her shoulder. "Did it?"

As she set the plates, he uncorked the bottle of wine and poured a generous measure for each of them. "It did, actually," he admitted easily, "I got in and out of the nest with the mirelurks none the wiser."

The awed look on her face made him smile. "Ooh, tell me about it!" She demanded, leaning on the table with an intense expression.

"Alright, well, we killed a few raiders near the river, so I dumped the corpses in the water to attract a few mirelurks. When they came around to feed, Amata and I killed one of them and I removed the carapace. Using that shell, I swam into the nest at the bottom of the memorial and planted the observer unit without alerting the mirelurks." He explained, sipping from his glass of wine.

"Oh wow!" Moira exclaimed, clapping. "I've never heard of anyone wearing a mirelurk shell like a hat to be sneaky before!" She laughed heartily, before sitting up straight. "That gives me an idea…"

Dare glanced at her questioningly as the silence dragged on. "...About what?"

She shook herself out of her thoughts. "Just an idea. Hey, when you go home, leave your hat here, okay?"

Nonplussed, the sniper nodded. "...Okay."

"Good!" Clapping again, Moira cut a piece of her steak and shoved it in her mouth, "What did you observe about the mirelurks?" He managed to decipher around her mouthful.

"Well, they live in water, so the radiation doesn't bother them," Moira nodded, having also deducted this on her own, "and there didn't seem to be any sort of hierarchy, they just built the nest, defended the nest, and took care of the eggs. Like most animals, really."

"Aww," Moira slumped disappointedly. "I hoped they might be more intelligent, but oh well…"

"It's another section down, at least," Dare offered optimistically, patting her hand.

Perking right back up, the adorably mad scientist nodded quickly. "You're right! And that's another chapter down, too!" Clapping excitedly, she looked to Dare with wet wide eyes. "That's two chapters…Dare, there's only one chapter left…do you know that? We're so close…"

Moira bit her lip, looking as if she was about to cry. "Aren't you happy, Moira?" The sniper asked in concern, reaching out and taking her hand.

Smiling sweetly at him, she sniffled and squeezed his hand. "I _am_ happy, Dare, it's just…all the progress I've made, all the things I've learned…they're all because of you," she murmured gratefully.

Finding her gaze hard to hold, Dare looked away sheepishly. "Well, I'm sure you would've found a way to do it without me, Moira," he said quietly. "You underestimate yourself a bit too much. You're stronger than you think."

Shrugging, the scientific shopkeeper interlaced their fingers gently. "Maybe," she softly acknowledged, "but I didn't, Dare. _You_ did. You helped me, even when everyone else thought I was just some crazy scientist in over her head. You gave me all this useful information, you went out and did all these dangerous things like sneaking into a mirelurk nest or walking into a minefield for me, when anyone else would've blown me off…or up. Or lied to my face."

Her voice grew more and more passionate as she continued. "And you've always been honest with me, even when you had advanced radiation sickness, a broken leg and a couple of broken ribs." Moira wiped her eyes on her sleeve, slipping out of her chair to circle the table and hug the sniper tightly. "And you've been a good friend to me, Dare, my best friend. And I appreciate that more than anything."

Pulling back, they were nose-to-nose, staring into each other's eyes, her starry light green into his sharp, flinty grey. Slowly, her hand moved up to the back of his neck and she leaned forward, their lips meeting softly. Moira sighed into the kiss, pulling Dare tightly against her.

Separating, Dare whispered, "Moira…"

Lightly pecking his lips, the scientist stepped back to her seat, still holding his hand softly. "I just want you to know how much I care for you, Dare." She replied to his unspoken question. "My studies have shown me the best way to do that is physically."

Chuckling lightly, they returned to their dinner. "I care for you too, Moira." He said simply.

"I know," she replied easily, smiling. "So, what are you going to do tomorrow?"

Sipping his wine, Dare cleared his throat. "Alright, well, Katie and Clover came across these giant, fire-breathing ants…"

…

…

…

 **A/N: And there you go, another chapter from the DC Wasteland! It took awhile to come out, I know, but I've had some free time lately and I've wanted to work on this story.**

 **You got to see super mutants for the first time, mirelurks, more of Dare's ingenuity, Amata's determination, and the team fighting together. I actually covered quite a few little quests here, with the memorial, Grayditch, and the bounty. On that note, I didn't make him tougher than a regular raider because, well, he is a regular raider. In my own playthrough, I snuck up behind him and shot him once with a plasma pistol.**

 **And then there's Brian and Joan, who are going to feature in the next chapter and that'll be it for them, since they really are one-off characters. Except for maybe a cameo or two.**

 **And the big thing, Katie beginning the search for James! This will begin the larger overarching plot of Following in His Footsteps, a quest that will take them all across the Wasteland and back, with many adventures on the way. So, in a sense…**

 **The true "Dare to Wander"...Starts here.**

 _ **Dramatic!**_

 **About Moira: Yeah, there was definitely some breadcrumbs left behind about a possible relationship between the two in the future, but that's in the future. The way I see, Moira would be a really lonely person, given her eccentricity and dangerous errands and implacable cheerfulness in a Wasteland where everything wants to kill her.**

 **The first time I played through Fallout 3, I didn't like her at all. Then, I went through a five-hour stretch of nothing but killing, exploring, exploding, super mutants, centaurs, Deathclaws and Yao Guai, body horror and emotional horror. When I went back to Megaton and visited Moira to sell my crap, her cheerful "Oh hey there!" made my day. There were already so many dirty depressing people getting their shit ruined, that having someone so glad to see me was a breath of fresh air. And she just sounds so happy when you do stuff for her.**

 **Anyway, a big thanks to Kurogane7 for editing and being a soundboard. Why not go check him out? You** _ **are**_ **on this site anyway…**

 **Stay Awesome.**

 **~Soleneus**

 **P.S.: This chapter was brought to you by: A concussion (not recommended), awesome music (recommended!), and copious amounts of coffee (also recommended!)!**

 **I also updated Still Not A Hero about a week ago with a monster 10k words chapter, which I wrote half with a concussion. Still have the concussion, actually, for going on a week now.**

 **It sucks.**

 **So yeah, maybe go check out my other stories? I'll be working on them in due time, and you might find something you like, eh? You never know unless you try.**

 **And it will make me cry tears of joy and caffeine. Maybe.**

 **Stay Awesome Some More.**

 **~still Soleneus**


	11. Following in his Footsteps

Katie woke to find Amata snuggled against her chest, just like when they were younger. She looked up at the ceiling, wondering why she was awake when a low, metallic grind reached her ears, making her teeth grit as the sound tickled her spine. Shivering, she slipped out of her oldest friend's grip and stood stretching out with a yawn. She flexed her arms and noted that, while she was a bit sore, she felt stronger than ever. Glancing down, Katie found that her muscles had gained more definition, giving her the much-vaunted six-pack that the Tunnel Snakes had bragged incessantly about, even though she knew they spent more time looking for grease for their hair than working their muscles.

Satisfied, she strode out of her room and nearly clonked her head on the top of the door. It was a narrow margin, but it seemed she'd grown by nearly an inch. No wonder she had been in so much pain yesterday.

The grinding started again and the blonde shivered, looking down into the main room to find Dare at the weapon table, working on something she couldn't see. Smirking, Katie vaulted over the railing and landed with a loud thump, and was gratified to notice that she barely felt the impact. She looked up and jumped back as she found the sniper pointing his magnum at the center of her forehead.

Recognizing her, Dare sighed and shook his head. "Katie…" he breathed, "Don't do that, I nearly shot you." He looked back at her, his flint-grey eyes examining her quickly. "You're stronger than yesterday."

"Yup!" Katie replied cheerfully, flexing her arms and posing like on of those magazine covers. "My muscles have muscles! And I got a six pack!" She crowed, poking her stomach. "I was already strong, but I feel like I could bench press you this morning!"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Try lifting your minigun, see how that feels," he offered, nodding at her weapon.

The blonde nearly skipped over to her gun and hefted it up easily, waving it around much like one would wield a broom. "Wow, it's so light now!" Katie marveled, actually bouncing the twenty-pound weapon in her hands. "I feel like I could carry two of these at once!"

"You know what this means, right?" Dare asked, giving her a barely-visible smirk.

"What?" The blonde replied, tilting her head in confusion, a hint of trepidation in her voice.

"You get to carry all of our heavy salvage," he answered, watching her wilt with an amused glint in his eyes. "And with you feeling so strong, we can carry a lot more, too."

"Aw, dammit," she ran a hand through her golden blonde hair with a sigh, then shrugged cheerfully. "Well, I should've seen that coming. It's a good thing, though."

Dare nodded. "Yes." He looked at the weapons on the table gestured at the sledgehammer she frequently used. "Try and break that," he ordered.

Katie frowned at him but complied, picking the hammer up easily and bending the handle. She strained for a second before it snapped with a loud crack, startling her into dropping the pieces on the floor. "Ah! My hammer!" She gasped, kneeling to pick up the pieces of broken handle before glaring at Dare. "Why did you make me do that?!"

He shrugged simply, reaching under the table and pulling the spare Super Sledge out, handing it to her. "Better to have it happen now than in the middle of combat," he replied, watching with amusement as Katie excitedly discarded the pieces and took the sledge in her hands, marveling at the look and feel of the big, tech-enhanced hammer.

"Ooh, this is nice," she said, spinning it easily in her hands. "I can see why Clover likes this so much. That was kind of a dick move though, making me break my old hammer."

Dare shrugged again, sitting back at the bench and taking his materials up. He was holding a saw and an assault rifle, using the former to cut through the barrel of the latter. As he worked the serrated blade through the metal, he became aware of Katie looming behind him, leaning on his back and looking down in interest. "…Yes?"

"What're you doing?" she asked, putting her elbows on his shoulders and fully leaning on him, looking down at his project over the top of his head.

Deciding to ignore it, he cut the rest of the barrel off, leaving a little stub behind. "I'm modifying an assault rifle, making it more compact." He flipped the weapon around and went to work on the stock.

"Why, though?" Katie continued, setting her chin on top of his head, her arms flopping down over his chest in a half-assed sort-of hug, pressing her chest against his back, "I've got my minigun and Clover's got her SMG."

"All of my weapons are semi-automatic," he replied, tapping his pistol meaningfully. "I don't have any rapid-fire weapons, and that can be a weakness if we get rushed from different sides. I can't always rely on you or the others to fill the air with bullets if we're caught in a pincer, and I don't want to add any more weight if I don't need it."

"Oh," she said, watching as he worked through the top part of the stock. "That makes sense." They sat in comfortable silence, the only sound in the room being the grinding of metal on metal. Eventually, Katie broke it. "Are you going to make breakfast soon? I can take over for you, if you want," she offered.

Dare paused, looking down to view the time on her Pip-Boy. "Sure, I'll get started on breakfast. I'm sure the others will be awake soon enough." He set the tools down and stood, Katie still with her arms around him, even as he turned around to face her. "Are you going to let go, or what?"

The blonde smiled, their noses nearly touching. "Maybe in a bit," she replied teasingly, happy to note she only had to lift her eyes a little to meet his gaze. Katie fully wrapped her arms around him, leaning into his shoulder and letting out a quiet, comfortable sigh.

Dare, not minding the embrace in the least, returned the affectionate gesture with a bit of confusion. "You're acting a bit strange," he stated plainly.

"Sorry," Katie shrugged, not moving, "I'm just a little excited. We're going to start looking for my dad and that little shot made me a lot stronger without mutating me…I think." She backed away and ran her hands up and down her body, squeezing and feeling every inch of her frame, even pulling her shirt and shorts away to look at herself. All in front of Dare. "Nope, no mutations."

The sniper nodded slowly. "Well, a positive attitude is good to have at the start of your day," he said, stepping around her and heading for the stove.

Still feeling perky, the blonde sat down at the table and took up the saw, quickly cutting through the stock thanks to her increased strength and distaste for the sound. Finished, she looked down at the shortened weapon and tilted her head, gazing at it narrowly. An idea struck her and she looked around, finding a small end table near the couch. It wasn't being used for anything, so she knelt down next to it and pulled the drawer out, her eyes locked on the sliding parts, wondering why she was fixated on them.

"Aha!" Katie whispered to herself, taking the drawer out fully and stripping the matching metal struts from inside of the end table. Taking her seat again, she took part of the assault rifle stock and bent the metal strut around it, welding it securely before attaching it to the rifle itself. Then, she took the other struts off of the drawer and drilled a pair of holes in the new stock, bending the struts into the desired shape and taking a pair of bolts, filing them and sticking them through the stock and the struts. After that, Katie used a length of wire to wrap around the bolts, attaching the wire to a piece of the rubber shoulder pad of the stock.

The former Vault-dweller held her creation up to the light. Squeezing the handle, the bolts slid out and she pulled the stock back, extending it to full size. Gripping the handle again, she pushed the stock back into a folded form. Unable to contain a triumphant smile, she turned around to show Dare what she accomplished, and froze.

He stood in front of the stove, shirtless, washing himself with a rag dipped in hot water. Rivulets of moisture ran down the hard, lean planes of his muscles and his face, usually tight in focus even outside of combat, was relaxed and smooth. Katie was forcibly reminded that, as mature as he was, Dare was only a few years older than her, and despite all the jokes Tunnel Snakes made about them, Amata was her best friend and only that.

In short, Katie liked what she saw. She liked it a lot.

Dare, feeling her blatant stare, turned and gave her a blank look. "…Yes?"

The blonde shook herself out of her ogling and held her creation out for the sniper to examine. "Look!" She exclaimed, showing him the way the stock could be collapsed and extended at will. "It's an extendable stock! I remembered reading about these in Guns and Bullets, though they were still being prototyped before the War. It had a description of how they worked and I managed to make one out of a few drawer parts."

Impressed, Dare took the shortened rifle from her and tested it out himself, feeling the weight and stability it added to the weapon. "I was thinking of making something like this, actually," he admitted, collapsing the stock and handing it back to her. "Though I wasn't sure how. This will really help, Katie. Thank you."

"No problem," she smiled warmly in return, "Glad to help." She looked over his shoulder, noticing the lack of breakfast. "Speaking of; want me to help you make breakfast?"

His lips curled slightly, and he nodded agreeably. "Sure, I'd like that."

…

The others eventually awoke when a delicious scent filtered up to their rooms, and descended to find plates of murky green eggs waiting for them. Though a bit cautious of the color at first, the Wastelanders ate every bit after their first bite, finding the flavor of the eggs to be a bit salty, but delicious and filling.

There were no complaints from Dogmeat, of course.

When they were finished, Katie and Clover helped each other strap their metal armor on while Amata put on her newly-acquired combat armor, the black paint scrubbed away to reveal the tan-colored plates underneath. Dare secured his pouches and pistols, followed by his pack and sniper rifle. His SMG was hanging from his side, a strap made from spare leather going over his shoulder to carry it.

They filled their canteens and brought along a few spare bottles of water for their guests, along with a few cans of food. "I need to stop by Moira's before we leave," Dare announced, popping a piece of gum in his mouth, "She has my hat."

"Alright, we'll start heading for Rivet City," Katie replied, knowing full well Dare would catch up to them before they even passed the Super Duper Mart. They waved to Stockholm in his nest above the gate and greeted Deputy Weld outside, slipping through the rocky terrain and keeping an eye out for ambushes, however small the chance might be.

"So…" Joan started, her assault rifle leaned casually on her shoulder, twirling a length of her dark red hair with a finger, Brian leaning against Dogmeat as they walked. "Dare…is he… _seeing_ anyone right now?"

Clover shrugged, an unlit cigarette in her mouth. "He's a sniper," she answered blandly, restraining a smirk, "He sees a lot of people. Usually right before he shoots them in the head."

Katie chuckled softly as Joan flushed. "You know what I meant!" She muttered, her eyes scanning the horizon. "You all seem close to him, and you in particular slept in the same bed last night. I was just wondering if there was something going on between you. I mean, he's a guy in a house with three women, if he's not sleeping with one of you he'd have to be gay."

"Definitely not gay," Katie and Clover said simultaneously, pausing to give each other a look, and their pooch yipped affirmatively. "We've slept together in all meanings of the word," the former slave continued, "But I wouldn't say we're together."

The redhead picked up the subtle disappointment in her tone. "Why not?" Joan asked, before glancing at Katie and Amata questioningly. "Is it because of you two?"

Clover sighed heavily, scratching the bridge of her nose. "It's got nothing to do with them…" she paused, "Well, maybe a bit, but not why Dare and I aren't together. He and I aren't together because, despite all the help he's given me, I don't feel like I deserve it."

"Why?" Amata was the one to ask, that time, her hazel eyes curious.

"You know my history," the former slave muttered in reply, her eyes falling. Dogmeat whimpered, pushing his nose against her leg comfortingly. "I'm way better than I used to be, but I don't think I'll ever really feel clean or whole ever again, and I still don't remember who I was before Paradise Falls. Dare deserves someone better than me, more able, less broken and used." She nudged Katie meaningfully, grinning sardonically. Behind them, Brian looked at them in confusion, the entire conversation going over his head.

"You know I don't think of you that way," a male voice suddenly spoke up, making the group jump. Clover yelped in shock, swinging her hammer at the space next to her. Dare ducked the blow, the head barely missing his hat. "What was that for?" He asked calmly, though his face was tight with irritation.

"Dare!" Clover said, her face red from embarrassment. "When did you catch up?"

"Since Joan said, 'You know what I meant,'" he replied evenly, adjusting his hat. "And you know I don't think of you how _you_ think of you, Clover. You're stronger than you think."

"Yeah, well, not strong enough," she murmured, taking in his form. "You look different. I thought Moira only worked on your hat?"

True to her words, the faded brown of his leather duster had been replaced by a mix of brown, off-white and light grey in a somewhat mottled pattern, with it repeated on his hat. The camouflage made him blend into the background rather well, looking somewhat like a large rock from the back. It had certainly worked on them, since he'd been walking next to them for a few minutes.

"She did, but she had some more prepared for my coat," Dare said, his sharp eyes picking across the landscape before he glanced at Joan. "Anymore questions about my relationship status?"

"E-er, well, I guess…" The redheaded Wastelander stammered, flushing, "do you w-want to get a drink with me when we get to Rivet City?"

The sniper hummed in thought. "I wouldn't mind, but I don't think I'll be able to tonight. We're heading downtown after we reach Rivet City, and it's possible we'll be camping there." He glanced at the disappointed woman, giving her a small smile. "We'll no doubt visit again, so I'll look you up then. How does that sound?"

Joan shrugged, feeling a tad bit better. "Better than nothing, I suppose."

Behind them, Amata frowned to herself and fingered her laser rifle in thought.

Their path took them passed the Super Duper Mart, and while Grayditch had stopped burning a while ago, the smell of smoke still lingered in the air. Brian sniffed sadly, gazing over the ruined buildings at the distant remains of his home, Amata patting his shoulder for comfort and Dogmeat licking his face.

Checking to make sure the mirelurks weren't going to be a problem, they crossed the bridge to the Anchorage Memorial and strode past the super mutant camp, which had Joan shuddering in remembrance and hiding behind Katie until it was out of sight. Dare made note of a squat hotel they passed, a crude, misspelled sign outside of the entrance warning them to keep their weapons holstered if they came inside. They hurried passed when the sounds of moan and grunts filtered out through the boarded up windows and continued on.

Dare suddenly stopped, holding up a hand to halt the others as Dogmeat growled. They tensed upon hearing the sound of laughter and shouting, most of it insane, a clear sign of Raiders. Hugging a low wall, he crouch-walked below the lip to the edge, leaning out to check. "Raiders," he announced quietly, somewhat unnecessarily since they could clearly see a trio of bandits in scrounged-together armor, a pair of them playing cards at a three-legged table while the other slammed her head into a bloody wooden plank, screaming her head off.

Dare unholstered his sniper rifle and took aim at the pair, carefully shifting himself on top of the wall to get a better view. Taking aim, he pulled the trigger, the .308 special piercing one raider's head before continuing on into the other's, taking them both out. As he turned to deal with obviously high-out-of-her-mind raider, Amata tugged on his jacket. "What?"

"There's something I want to try," she whispered, taking aim. She stiffened and Dare could've sworn her eyes flashed with what looked like green lettering, before the medic robotically swiveled and fired three shots. The first impacted the raider's back, drawing a scream of pain, while the second hissed over her shoulder, barely scoring the tire that made up her shoulder pad. The third blazed through the air and carved a scorched hole in the back of her head, and the corpse slumped to the ground without another sound.

"What was that?" the sniper asked seriously. The way Amata's posture and countenance had changed was a little alarming, though it did remind him of the time his father had shown him their Sniper's Mind in action.

"It's called V.A.T.S.," Amata replied as they scavenged the small but festively decorated camp, small multi-colored lights strung up around the blackened skeleton of a tree, "The Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System. No one's entirely sure how it works, but it kind of slows down time and lets you pick your shots. It's definitely weird, but useful in some cases."

"Yeah, I can see how," Dare replied, kicking open a box with surprising irritation and policing the handful of clips inside. The medic stared at his back in surprise, wondering what had made him annoyed, but leaving the issue alone as they continued on.

Most of the buildings along the bank of the river were destroyed and collapsed, either due to time or the bombs, and the few that weren't were boarded up, though they heard the rattling and hissing of gunfire and energy weapons in the distance. Dare mentally noted the doors and stairs leading to the metro tunnels, making a note to mark them down on his map later. They continued at decent pace, coming into view of a wide, round building that had scaffolding and large pipes coming out of it.

"That's the Jefferson Memorial," Joan pointed out, her eyes cautious. "There used to be some big project going there, but it got shut down nearly twenty years ago. Now a bunch of muties live there, taking pot shots at anything they can see. We should be careful."

The group went low, winding through the ruins to avoid being seen by the Super Mutants randomly walking along the scaffolding. It was going well, until they came across a camp that had heavy metal and barbed wire topping chunks of concrete as a fence, bloody bags of gore hanging from it every few feet. Barricades made of metal roadblocks had been set up along with three rough cloth tents like the one Joan had been found in, and a large bonfire belched oily smoke into the sky. The deep, raspy shouts clued them on to who they had stumbled upon, exactly, and Joan shivered in fear.

Dare carefully climbed up a section of ruined wall, peeking out over top of it to scout out the area. He saw one Super Mutant emerging from a tent with a cruel laugh, quiet, pained whimpers following it; while another overlooked the only entrance to the camp, and yet another stood guard. Nodding to himself, the sniper dropped to the ground and set his pack down with his sniper rifle, screwing his silencer onto Red Empress.

"You can't be thinking about taking them on by yourself, are you?" Katie asked incredulously, "We've got guns, Dare, we can watch your back!"

He arched an eyebrow at them. "It's not a question of trust," Dare replied lowly, "I trust you with my life. However, it _is_ a question of stealth. Gunfire is going to draw the attention of the mutants at the memorial, and we're escorting these two to Rivet City. The last thing we need is attention, so they need to be dealt with quietly. Could you do that, Katie?" He glanced at her minigun and heavy metal armor meaningfully, arching an eyebrow at her.

The blonde scowled. "No, but that doesn't mean you should go in alone," she rebuked, concern showing through her helmet.

"I'll be fine, I've killed Super Mutants before," the sniper said, patting her shoulder comfortingly, "I know how to handle them."

With that said, he holstered Red Empress and climbed the wall, dropping over it with a quiet swish of his duster. Katie huffed and turned away, setting her minigun by her side, ready to jump out and unleash hell. She noticed that while Joan was pale, both she and Clover were giving her amused looks, while Amata looked irritated. "…What?"

The former slave shook her head with a chuckle and didn't say anything, much to Katie's annoyance.

Dare slipped through the wire-topped fence, hitting the ground with a quiet thud, scanning around to make sure he hadn't been heard. Nodding to himself, he drew Red Empress and snuck through the back of the camp. Hearing the loud footfalls of a mutant approaching, he pressed himself into a gap on the ruined wall of a building, letting his camouflage conceal him from sight.

Once the mutant had passed, Dare peeked out from under his hat and watched the wide, muscled back disappear into a tent. Checking to make sure the sentry was still keeping watch, he drew his knife and followed the quiet yelps of pain and dumb guffaws. Sliding in behind the mutant as it tormented a captive woman with rusty nails embedded in a plank of wood, one of the lower-tier mutants favorite weapons.

With a short running start, Dare leapt on the mutant's back, driving the blade into the mutant's neck and ripping it out forwards, cutting through its trachea. He wasn't done, however; Dare reached up and seized the mutant's nose, yanking its head back and stabbing up through the new hole, cutting through the brainstem and killing it instantly. The corpse fell back on Dare, who grunted under the weight and slowly lowered it to the ground in a spreading pool of thick, dark blood.

The captive, a dark-skinned woman with a mop of white hair, gasped and opened her mouth, the sniper darting forward to silence her with his hand. He put a finger to his lips silently and pointed outside, where the sentry shouted something about stupid humans. She nodded in understanding and Dare drew back, leaving the tent.

He snuck up to the minigun-wielding sentry standing by the bonfire, passing by the mauled bodies of raiders. Another captive, a man with a long mullet kneeled by it, his eyes going wide as he noticed the sniper coming into view. His eyes flicked between Dare and the Super Mutant, this one a bit taller and better armored than the others, wearing a that looked to have been made with pure intimidation in mind.

Making his decision, the man turned and barked at the mutant, "Hey, Mutie! You-" The mutant took its hand off the trigger of its minigun and roughly smacked him in the face, sending him to ground.

"Shut up, stupid human! Your voice grates my ears!" it shouted down at the man, before it caught something out of the corner of its eye.

Dare leaped over the fire, his duster flaring out behind him like a pair of leathery wings, landing on the mutant and burying the barrel of Red Empress in the mutant's throat, firing upwards. The bullet pierced through the mutant's tongue and up into its mouth, flattening against the bottom of its skull. The sniper drew his pistol back and fired four more times, two bullets in each eye, and the mutant hit the ground with a resounding thud.

"Huh?" The last mutant wondered aloud, turning around to find the sentry out of sight. "Hey! Where you go?! You supposed to share food, no sneaking bites!"

It stomped up the short ramp that made the entrance and Dare watched from the top of the fence until it walked under him. He slid off the top and landed on the mutant's shoulders, pressing the silencer to the base of its skull and firing twice. It fell with grunt, landing roughly and Dare rolled off, kicking it over and putting another brace of rounds through its eye.

Satisfied that his work was done, the sniper jogged up to the far wall and whistled sharply, signaling an all-clear for his squad. Then, he moved back through the camp, freeing the captive woman and the man. "That was brave of you, shouting at a mutant like that," he complimented, handing the man a couple of buffout pills.

"Yeah, well, they were shouting at me the whole time," the mulleted-man replied with a wince.

Katie, Clover and Amata came into the camp and quickly began to search for goods while Joan sat back with Brian and Dogmeat, eyeing the corpses warily. "You cleared them out," the redheaded Wastelander said with a tinge of awe in her voice, "Just like that."

Dare shrugged. "Know thine enemy," he replied vaguely, securing the minigun and ammo boxes for Katie, along with a few more clips for his pistol and revolver.

Clover handed him his pack and he added his goods to it, hefting the minigun on his shoulder. Katie approached him with a grin, holding out a handful of grenades. "Trade you," she offered.

The sniper gave her a small smile and traded her the big gun for the explosives. "When we get to Rivet City, we can take a look at that and use it to repair your own weapon," he stated, tapping the multiple barrels, "Yours might be in better condition, but you can use it to reinforce the metal. Or sell it for caps, if you want."

"Hey Dare, look what I found!" Amata called, striding up to them with a pistol-shaped weapon in her hands. The metal was rusted and dirty, and main body of the gun seemed to be made up of some sort of cloudy glass, metal pumps and thickly-insulated wire. Instead of a barrel, though, the gun had four needles facing forward, the center being the largest. The medic tapped the top, where a dirty slot could be made out under the grime. "It looks like it takes small energy cells, so it must be some sort of energy gun. I don't know what, though."

Dare took the weapon with a curious gaze, examining it carefully. While not a big fan of energy weapons, he knew what most models looked like. "I think…this might be a plasma pistol."

"Really?" Clover asked incredulously. "Those things are beyond rare. I've only seen a few people with those, and they were rich."

"More valuable if it works, which we don't know for certain," Dare replied, handing it back to Amata. "Good find. Curious where super mutants got one, though."

Amata shrugged helplessly and stored the weapon in her pouch, intent on cleaning and repairing it later. Not only would it be worth more, but it might be powerful as well.

The group quickly stripped the camp of useful materials, loading up on scrap metal and discarded weapons, most taken from the dead mutants. Waste not, want not after all, and with them being so close to Rivet City, they could afford to weigh themselves down with a bit salvage to sell.

Once done, the group continued on, passing around a building to find an impressive sight before them. A giant metal ship, the dormant forms of old aircraft sitting atop it, stood out proudly from the backdrop of murky water and ruined hills. The front section of the ship, a full third of the metal bulk had been neatly severed from the rest and was listing forward in dark water.

On their approach, they noted a decently-sized ruined structure made of metal with a sign declaring 'Rivet City.' The climb leading up to a platform at the top was not short, and upon reaching it, they found an intercom, clearly seeing a trio of security guards at the entrance to the ship. Katie tapped the button and opened her mouth; but before she could speak, a strict male voice came over the line. " _Welcome to Rivet City. Please wait while the bridge extends."_

There was muffled clunk and metallic grinding as a long metal bridge was swung over to connect to the platform, something Dare found clever. Besides the bridge, the only way to reach Rivet City was by taking a swim in the irradiated water, followed by a long climb up the hull, all while the security took potshots at the intruders.

The end of the bridge lined up neatly with the platform, metal meeting metal with a dull thunk. Katie and Amata glanced at each other, then at the ship, then back at each other and shrugged, following behind the Wastelanders as they walked across a bridge to a ruined ship that was also a city.

The Wasteland was weird.

Just before they reached the other side, a stern-faced man carrying a bulkier version of an assault rifle held up his hand. "Hold it right there," he barked, and they recognized his voice from the intercom. "State your business in Rivet City."

Dare gestured to Joan and Brian, who waved nervously, and the other two former captives. "Bringing back a few captured people and a new resident with family here," he answered calmly.

The security guard looked them over, his eyes going wide upon recognizing Joan. "Joan! We all thought you were dead!"

The redhead shrugged, nodding at Dare and his group. "I would've been if it hadn't been for them, Harkness. I'll vouch for them."

Harkness, as he was now known, nodded. "Alright. Keep your noses clean, you hear me?" He ordered with a narrow gaze. His paranoia mollified, Harkness stepped aside and allowed them to access the city proper. Stepping inside, the dark-skinned woman and the man thanked them again, gifting them with a few caps before scurrying off; most likely to drown their experiences in alcohol.

"C'mon, I'll show you guys where Vera is," Joan offered, heading up the steps in the cramped interior, tapping a sign that read 'Weatherly Hotel' with her finger, "She runs a hotel on the upper decks, a real nice place. She even has a Mister Handy to help her keep the place running."

Katie and Amata found themselves comparing the interior of the ship that made up Rivet City to Vault 101, finding that while the Vault had a bit more space (especially in the hallways), the city was much more lived-in, with children running in the corridors, furniture and signs scattered about. All in all, it was much more comfortable than the sterile environment of the Vault; if less clean.

A large sign proclaiming 'The Weatherly Hotel' sat above an opened door, leading into a large room with a rather nice U-shaped desk in the middle. The lighting was a low, pleasant yellow, the wooden desk and neat couch giving it a very homey atmosphere. Standing behind the desk, tapping away at a terminal, was a young woman with messy blonde hair. She looked up with a smile as they entered, a friendly greeting on her lips. "Welcome to the Weatherly Hotel! How can I - Brian?!"

The young boy gave her a sheepish wave with Dogmeat giving a friendly bark. "Hi, Aunt Vera."

The woman rushed around the desk and embraced Brian fiercely, fussing over him and poking at him. "I was so worried about you! I heard about Grayditch on the radio-" she continued to babble for several minutes, before noticing the others. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm Vera Weatherly, you - Joan!"

Dare frowned minutely as Vera turned to the redhead and began to fuss over her as well, trading annoyed looks with Clover. "Ahem," he cleared his throat, "It might be a bit redundant, but we were wondering if you would give this young man a home?"

The blonde hotel owner waved him off. "Of course I will! I've got the means to keep him fed and healthy but most importantly, safe. Buckingham, please take Brian into the back room and get him settled in, would you?" she directed at the Mister Handy, who replied in an upper-class British accent.

Brian turned to Katie and Clover with a blush on his face. "Thank you for saving me and bringing me here," he thanked them shyly.

"Aww," Katie cooed, tousling his hair playfully, "It's no problem, kid. Just stay safe and don't make trouble for your Aunt, okay?"

Clover simply patted his shoulder without a word, and with one more word of thanks and hug with their dog, the boy disappeared into the back room. "Thank you for bringing Brian safely here, and Joan too," Vera said gratefully, "I was so worried when I heard that Grayditch was on fire and her caravan had gone missing. Here, I can't really repay you for all you've done, but here's some caps and I'll reserve a free room for you whenever you stop by."

Katie took the pouch of caps with a stunned look, handing it off to Clover. "Uh, yeah, you're welcome," she replied, sharing a surprised look with Amata.

Dare cleared his throat again. "Do you know where Galaxy News Radio is?" he asked, "We're heading there next, and I wondered if it's in this area."

Vera gave them a confused look. "Uh, no, it's not. It's way back up the river. The only way to get to the plaza is through the metro tunnels near the Anchorage Memorial," she explained carefully.

"Really?" the sniper asked plainly, resisting the urge to facepalm.

"Yeah, you guys didn't know that?" Joan questioned, getting head shakes from the group, "Oh. I thought you knew that already."

Dare sighed and palmed his face. "At least we cleared the path back, so we should make a good pace up there," he said with a resigned shrug.

"True," Katie agreed with a nod, hefting the spare minigun on her shoulders. "Let's go get some lunch, then I can take a look at this big boy."

Joan waved as they left. "Thanks again!" She called, "And remember that drink!"

Following the signs, the group went down a few floors, back outside and then inside the Lower Deck, which opened up into a wide, atrium-like room. Several stalls were set up, selling clothes, weapons and sundry, their merchants calling out to the citizens walking by. It was bustling, a true city in the Wasteland, and former Vault-Dwellers looked on in slight awe, having never seen this many people in one place before.

They received a few cautious looks for their armor and weaponry, but no more than that. Following the smell of food and Dogmeat's excited barks, they found an eatery with a few tables scattered around with well-used stools at the counter. "Afternoon!" an older man called from behind the counter, standing next to a hot grill, the scent coming from the meat being cooked, "What can I get you today?"

"Three bowls of noodles with iguana bits, and a squirrel on a stick?" Dare answered simply, the question directed at Dogmeat, who hopped and yipped excitedly, "Squirrel on a stick."

The man looked disappointed for some reason, but nodded and took the caps. "Thanks for the patronage. Take a seat, your meal will be out in a moment," he replied, waving at the tables, where a young blonde-haired woman was sweeping.

The group took a seat gladly, setting their packs aside for the first time in hours and relaxing. Almost as one, they reached into their packs and retrieved a Nuka-Cola, popping the cap and taking a draught of the warm but refreshing soda. "This place is kind of crazy, isn't it?" Amata asked, looking about the inside of the ship with sparkles of awe in her eyes. "A whole city inside a ship…crazy."

"About as crazy as a bunch of people living underground in giant vaults," Dare replied with a tip of his bottle and a small smirk.

Katie chuckled, as did Clover. "About as crazy as a city in the crater of an Atomic dud," she returned with a smile.

"About as crazy as a town in shopping mall," Clover added, and they shared a quiet laugh at how insane their world would seem to someone outside of it, unlikely as that was.

The conversation ended as the formerly-sweeping blonde girl strode up to them with a loaded tray in her hands. "Four iguana-bits and noodle bowls, and a squirrel on a stick," she announced with a pretty smile, setting their meals down along with four pairs of chopsticks and a flutter of her eyelashes, "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"Nope, we're all good," Katie replied cheerfully, dismissing the girl with a wave of her hand, turning to her meal and frowning. Picking up the chopsticks, she tapped them together with a clueless look shared with Amata. "The hell are these?"

Clover glanced up at them with disbelief in her eyes, noodles dangling out of her mouth. "Don't tell me you've never used chopsticks before!" She said around her bite. At their nods, she shook her head and muttered, "What do they teach you down in those Vaults?"

"How to use forks and spoons," Katie replied archly, holding one stick in each hand and poking at her food fruitlessly, "How do you even use these things?!"

Dare clicked his chopsticks together, getting their attention. "Like this. You have to hold the top one somewhat like a pencil and cradle the bottom with your thumb; keep that one still and use your finger to pinch the top to the bottom. That's it." The sniper would never admit it out loud, but watching Katie (who had taken to the Wasteland like a mirelurk to water) struggle with something as simple as chopsticks was the funniest thing he'd seen in a long time.

Amata was a quick study, though she ended up dropping her noodles back into the bowl frequently, while the blonde heavy weapons-enthusiast ended up forgoing the eating sticks entirely in favor of eating directly from the bowl.

Once they had finished their meal, the group found a pair of workbenches near a gun store, and after asking permission, were allowed to set up. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret," Dare whispered, beckoning Amata and Katie to listen closely, "Most people will tell you to strip another weapon for parts, then sell the rest as scrap metal. What I find works better is to examine your extra weapon, find the parts that are in better condition than the ones in yours, then switch them out. See, most people will pay more for a functioning, if weathered, weapon than they will for a pile of scrap metal."

He took the extra minigun and quickly took it apart, doing the same to Katie's weapon, before finding and swapping out several pieces. After examining them again, he put the weapons back together. He'd replaced the grip on Katie's, as well as a few rusting screws and thread-bare belts, which would make it less likely to jam. "You can also use parts from a similar weapon to modify your own," the sniper explained, taking the metal ring holding the barrels together off and holding it up, "For instance, we could add this near the opening of the barrels, reducing the spread of your shots."

"That's useful," the blonde replied, fiddling with the rotation mechanism, "But I think caps are better to have right now. And since there are a bunch of Super Mutants where we're going, we'll have more material to work with."

"True enough," Dare returned with a nod, hefting the minigun on his shoulder and striding towards the gun shop, "Let's sell our salvage and get going; we should get there before night time."

"Why? Big bad sniper afraid of the dark?" Katie teased, playfully punching his shoulder.

The 'big bad' sniper shook his head, setting the weapon down on the counter in front of the shop keepers. "No," he replied simply, giving her a serious look. "Just the things that lurk there."

…

After making a nice profit from selling their salvage, the group left Rivet City and made their way back up the coast, traveling quicker with the prior clearing of the path and lack of escortees. It took them around an hour to get back to the Anchorage Memorial and about half as long to find an entrance to the Metro tunnels. "Be careful down here," Dare warned, checking his SMG and flicking the safety off, "Scum like Raiders and feral ghouls like to lurk in places like these, where it's dark and cramped. Watch the corners and our backs."

The ladies checked their weapons and nodded, Clover moving forward to open the door for them. The interior of the metro station was much like the world above; dirty and ruined. The small amount of visibility came from flickering, filth-encrusted lights, the few that still worked, anyhow. They stepped around a shoddily-made barricade and made their way towards the lobby, passing crumbling walls covered with misspelled and messy graffiti.

The corridor opened up into the lobby and Clover froze, pointing at a pair of growling, emaciated figures, one hunched over the body of a raider with its crooked fingers digging through the stomach.

Dare drew Red Empress and took aim, shooting the kneeling ghoul in the head. The soft _K-chak_ didn't go unheard, however, and the other ghoul spun to face them with a rattling howl before it charged with its hands out and fingers crooked like claws. Clover put two rounds through its chest as it dived at her, neatly sidestepping the falling body as an answering chorus of cries rose from below.

"There!" Katie called, pointing at the other end of the platform, which had collapsed. The group rushed to the wall of debris, pressing their backs against it as the rapid pattering of bare feet and ragged screams approached. The blonde spun her minigun up as the first feral ghoul came sprinting up the stairs, a hail of bullets tearing through its rotted skeletal frame; red light briefly shining as Amata's laser rifle spat burning lines through the air, reducing another ghoul to ash.

Clover's shotgun barked, ripping a particularly thin ghoul in half as Dare stood a bit behind her, his revolver kicking as he fired on the swarming ghouls. They were coming up from both sides of the platform, though one in tattered scraps of armor climbed up column farther down, charging down the middle. Before the sniper could open fire, Dogmeat barked and dashed forward, leaping on the ghoul and tackling it to the ground, his teeth flashing in the low light as he tore at the radiated creature.

Dare switched his focus back to the ghouls, firing on the ferals as the last of them mindlessly ran at them, a .44 magnum round exploding through its skull to put it down for good. Clover lifted her helmet and cocked an ear, listening in. "I don't hear any more ferals," she remarked, pulling the round clip from her shotgun and loading in a fresh one, "And all that gunfire would definitely draw everything in these tunnels."

"Well, since we cleared them out for the time being, better give it a quick look-through and restock," Dare replied as Dogmeat trotted up to him, holding a weathered pouch in his jaws and dropping it at his feet before looking up with his tongue lolling out. "Aren't you a smart dog, huh boy? And I saw you take that ghoul out, too. Who's a good boy?"

Amata shot Dare an amused look as he scratched the dog's ears and fed him a piece of jerky. "As the medic, I would advise against letting him lick you, Dare. You might catch something."

"It's alright," he replied, rubbing Dogmeat's head, "He's a tough puppy." Dare stood and glanced around the platform, before finding something of interest and heading off to investigate. He stepped down the stairs and came down to the tracks, finding that the tunnel heading east was relatively intact. Given that's where GNR would be, it was a good thing. Though he believed the swarm of ghouls were all the hostiles within, he still drew Red Empress and changed the clip before heading down the tunnel. Before he went around the bend, he whistled and waved at Katie, who nodded in understanding.

He found that the remainder of the tunnel was, in fact, empty, the raiders having stuck to the area behind him before the ghouls came and savaged them. Dare followed the eastern tunnel to the exit, scratching arrows in the wall with his knife to mark his path for the others. Upon reaching the exit, he knelt and pulled his revolver, flicking open the chamber and exchanging spent shells for fresh ones. He scratched Dogmeat behind the ears as the heavy footfalls of his companions reached his ears. "Find anything good?"

"A good amount of 10mm ammo, a handful of shotgun shells and…" Katie paused for dramatic effect, before holding up a weather-beaten comic in the dim light, "Grognak, the Barbarian! Volume sixteen, the Lair of the AntAgonizer!"

"Mm," Dare nodded, tapping the exit. "That's pretty good. I can hear gunfire outside, regular guns and energy weapons; whoever's fighting is well-equipped."

"Should we try to be sneaky again?" Amata asked, cracking open the door to peer outside, the bright sunlight pouring in, "That didn't really work last time."

"If we run in without examining the situation, we could end up with fire from both sides," he cautioned, drawing his sniper.

The medic nodded. "I know, I was just saying," she replied quickly, following Dare's lead as they stepped outside.

Walking up the metro steps, they came into a large square dominated by several surprisingly intact buildings with aged and beaten billboards still exclaiming what a good time it was to pop open a Nuka-Cola and take a break. The main features of the area was a pitted golden globe with a rocket held up as if circling it and twin statues of women clinging to the sides of a building, overlooking the square.

Following the sounds fighting south, the group climbed a ruined staircase to peer over the wall. Katie gasped aloud at the sight that met their eyes.

Super Mutants fought against equally-sized figures clad in armor of metal, but not like what Katie or Clover wore. No, beneath the plates of steel, they could see technology, gears and wires in the place of flesh and bone. Modern knights, their armor powered through nuclear fusion, their maces and lances traded in for super sledges and laser rifles.

Paladins of the Brotherhood of Steel.

The leader, their armor embossed with a lion roaring in front of sword, in place of the cogs, shattered a baseball with their arm, seizing the mutant by the neck and rolling it over their shoulders, slamming it into the ground. The leader stomped on the mutant's neck and fired their laser rifle into its mouth, burning a hole into the ground beneath. "Keep firing!" they shouted in feminine voice, enhanced by an electronic growl through the fierce helmet on her head, "They bleed just like anything else!"

Katie's jaw fell open, her eyes fixed the armor the Paladins wore. "What is that?" she asked breathily.

She was drawn from her reverie when Dare's rifle cracked, the bullet tearing through the head of a mutant. "You can ask later," he replied calmly, his pupils dilating as his Sniper's Mind washed over him. Time slowed and Dare sighted on a mutant drawing its arm back to hurl a grenade. He focused and shifted his aim above its shoulder and fired.

The round tunneled through the air, impacting into the explosive with a quiet clink, before it exploded in the mutant's hand. The explosion tore the head and arm off of the mutant intending to use it, and the shrapnel shredded the back of another standing in front of it.

With the last mutant down, the Brotherhood members turned to face them with weapons drawn…except for one, who seemed more inclined to shout jeers at the corpses.

"Paladins!" Dare called, standing with arms up. "We come in peace!"

Seeing that he didn't intend on picking a fight, the Paladins lowered their weapons, the leader beckoning them down as another turned and told of the jeering one. Dare slid over the wall and landed easily, approaching the leader with the ladies and their dog. "Look, I don't know who you are, but you don't belong here," she said shortly, her fingers tapping at the stock of her rifle.

"Actually, we do," Katie replied, a bit taken aback by the attitude. "We're heading to the GNR building. What're you guys doing out here?"

"The Super Mutants have overrun our brothers at the Galaxy News Radio building, and we're heading there to back them up," the leader answered, nodding at her underlings, who began to move out, "You can tag along if you want, but keep your head down and try not to do anything…stupid."

"Yeah, fine," Katie grumpily replied, following the leader as she took point, "Who are you, anyway?"

The leader gave her a look behind the helmet, her heavy footfalls joining with the others. "The name's Sarah Lyons, Sentinel and squad commander of the Lyon's pride. We're with the Brotherhood of Steel."

"The what?" Amata asked curiously.

"You never heard of the Brotherhood of Steel?" a younger woman questioned, her incredulity clear even through the speakers. "What, you been living under a rock or something?"

"Sort of," Clover said, "They're from a Vault."

"Oh," the knight replied sheepishly.

Sarah glanced back at them over her shoulder as they walked around a building, another Knight peering around the corner and firing on a mutant while a brother lay on a blood-soaked mattress, his armor rent around the stomach. "Hold the chatter for now," she ordered, "We're heading into battle. Report!"

The kneeling Knight downed the mutant with a well-placed shot before standing and saluting. "All clear, Sentinel," he reported with an oddly cheerful tone, "Five mutants released from their torment. The rest are keeping their heads down."

"Good," Sarah nodded, looking to who seemed to be her second-in-command, "Jennings?"

The Paladin shook his head slowly, rising from the body after retrieving a pair of dimly-glowing tags. "Negative."

The reporting Knight glanced over at the group, his shoulders perking up. "New recruits?"

"Just a few strays we picked up," Lyons denied, readying her weapon, "They blundered into the Uglies on 42nd."

"Welcome!" the Knight greeted them warmly, saluting them with a fist over his heart.

The Sentinel sighed inaudibly, turning to her squad. "Alright, it's the usual drill. Reddin, you just do whatever Paladin Vargas says and keep your mouth shut." She took point, leading them out into the open.

"I feel so inspired," Katie muttered blandly, hefting her minigun as they moved.

"My Brothers may be a little gruff," the cheerful Knight interjected, "But they would lay down their lives for you in a heartbeat! Speaking of…"

Rough voices called for blood as Super Mutants fired on them from the doorway of what looked like a school. The knights opened fire as Katie spun up, a stream of rounds punching through one mutant while another took cover beside a window. Dare nudged Clover's shoulder, pointing at relatively hidden section of wall with an open window on the second story. Nodding in understanding, the former slave dashed across the open ground with the sniper close behind.

She hit the wall and pressed her back against it, kneeling slightly and lacing her fingers. "On three," Clover stated, before counting up, "One, two, three!"

On three, Dare stepped on her connected hands and jumped up as she pushed, latching onto the wall and climbing up quickly. He pulled himself into the room and drew Justice, diving behind a pillar as he saw three mutants, all wielding hunting rifles and firing down at the group below. Switching his revolver to his non-dominant hand, Dare equipped a grenade in his other, pulling the pin and holding it for a scant second before swinging out from cover and tossing it at a mutant and opening fire on another.

The grenade landed at the feet of the Super Mutant and exploded, shrapnel ripping through it even as the force threw it into the air. A pair of .44 rounds impacted into the other's skull, making it yell in pain but not killing it, and Dare rectified that by charging into it and pressing the barrel against its chin, adding another hole to its head. He used the thickly muscled body as a shield as the last mutant on the second floor fired on him, waiting for the shots to impact before peeking out and shooting.

The three bullets hit the mutant in the chest, nearly killing it, and Dare flipped the rifle belonging to the body he held up, slipping it under the arm firing again. That shot pierced the mutant's throat, and it grabbed feebly at its neck before limply tumbling to the ground below. The sniper reloaded the rifle with a handful of bullets scavenged from the corpse, picking across the mostly-collapsed second floor and taking potshots at the mutants below, clearing a path for the others.

Once the former school had been cleared out, Dare dropped to the bottom floor, joining up with the rest as they exited the ruined building. It could've been his imagination, but the sniper believed the Knights and Paladins looked on them with at least an iota of respect; after all, most other Wastelanders would've let the heavily armed and armored Brothers face the mutants alone.

They emerged into a plaza of sorts, the GNR building stand tall amidst the rubble, with a dried fountain in the middle and surrounded on most sides by collapsed buildings. Bodies littered the plaza, though the number of mutant corpses outnumbered the dead Brothers ten-to-one. The front steps were lined with sandbags and concrete barricades, with more power armor-clad Brothers emerging from behind. Lyons waved at them and approached with the cheerful Knight, the initiate and the second-in-command staying behind for an after action report.

"Sarah, that you?" the lead Brother of the GNR team called.

"Who else? You can always bet that my father would send the best," the Sentinel replied proudly, shouldering her rifle.

"Well, glad to have you backin' us up," the Knight replied, "We've had a hell of time."

Sarah snorted. "You're tellin' me. Felt like we met up with half the Uglies in downtown on the way here."

The Knight looked over her shoulder, spying the Wastelanders looking up at the building or around the environment. "Pick up a few strays on the way here?" he asked sarcastically.

She glanced at them with a half-shrug. "Apparently they were coming here already, probably fans of Three Dog. They've held their own so far, but-"

Dare held up a hand as Dogmeat began to bark loudly. "You hear that?" he asked Clover quietly. She cocked an ear and narrowed her eyes in thought.

"Sounds like…something really big…coming from…" she pointed at a crumpled bus blocking an area between two buildings, a loud, deep clanging coming from behind it. "Oh shit! Look out!"

The second-in-command shouted at the initiate by the bus. "Reddin! Get out of there! Behemoth!"

The initiate cried out in panic and sprinted away from the vehicle…right as something huge charged through it, setting off the decayed nuclear engine inside. The blast hurled her through the air like a rag-doll, and she hit the front steps with a stomach-churning crunch of metal and bone.

A giant stepped over the remains of the bus, wreathed in smoke that scattered as it roared, revealing itself to the world. It was over thirty feet tall, like a Super Mutant super-sized, its skin mottled and pitted with age and the scars of combat. Severed heads hung around its neck and waist, with a door that had been torn off a truck strapped to its left arm as a shield, while it wielded a length of thick pipe ripped from the ground with a fire hydrant still attached to the top. A cage was attached to its back, and they could see the bodies of dead humans shaking around inside.

"Open fire!" Sentinel Lyons called. They could hear a tinge of panic beneath the calm, even over the volley of hissing lasers and cracking bullets. Katie opened fire with her minigun as Amata joined in, and Clover switched to her sidearm as Dare took up his SMG and fired. At that range, it wouldn't do much, but the behemoth was large target.

The combined fire from the Wastelanders and the Brotherhood would've annihilated a smaller creature, but all it did was piss the super-sized Super Mutant off. It released an enraged bellow before reaching down and ripping a chunk of concrete out of the ground, hurling it at a Knight.

Dare ducked behind a barricade and pulled his pack off, reaching inside and pulling out three ingredients; a bottle of vodka, a half-full can of turpentine, and a dirty rag. He popped the top off the first one and drained a measure of it on the ground, before refilling it with part of the second and stuffing the third down the neck, wetting it with flammable liquid. Dare flipped open his lighter and lit the makeshift wick, pushing himself up behind the barricade and tossed the flaming cocktail at the Behemoth.

The bottle impacted the giant creature's chest and shattered, splashing a potent mix of alcohol and turpentine on its skin that blazed to life as the fire from the rag spread. The Behemoth roared in pain and surprise, swatting at its chest to rid itself of the glowing painful stuff.

"Our weapons aren't working!" Lyons shouted, turning to leader of GNR outpost, "We need more firepower!"

Clover popped out of cover, her rocket launcher roaring as a missile burned through the air to explode against the Behemoth, cratering its flesh…and putting the fire out. "Ah, shit!" she cursed, ducking back down to reload the tube.

"Our heavy weapons guy went down two hours ago!" the Knight replied, pointing at the dry fountain, where an armored body lay still, draped over the railing, "We've been fighting ever since!"

"Katie!" Dare called, gesturing towards the body.

Having heard them as well, the blonde heavy weapons enthusiast nodded and shoved Lyons, getting her attention and pushing her minigun into her hands. "Don't break it," she ordered seriously, before slipping out of cover and dashing at the body with Dare next to her.

She hit the ground in a slide, skidding to a stop next to the armored corpse, heaving it aside to reveal a long weapon on the ground. Rusted metal was shaped into a half-tube, the back end heavy with a cluster of pipes with a mini-nuke snugly nestled on a on the launcher. "Whoa," Katie muttered, lifting it onto her shoulder. "I bet you could do a _lot_ of damage with this thing."

"Good!" Dare replied, emptying another clip into the behemoth. "Use it!"

"Right!" She said strongly, kneeling down and taking aim. "Get back!" Katie called to the Brothers near the mutant's feet, dipping between its legs to confuse it. "Fire in the hole!"

She pulled the trigger, excitedly waiting for a massive explosion…only for the launcher to creak and a pipe to burst with sad exhalation of air. The behemoth, drawn by the shouting, turned and threw a chunk of concrete at them. Dare dove away as the rock slammed into the fountain and broke apart, raining small chunks down on his back.

"Shit!" Katie cursed, dropping the launcher to the ground with a disgusted growl. "It's broken!"

"Wait," the sniper said, reaching down and pulling the miniature nuke from the launcher. He examined it closely, pointing out the small yellow flaps on back. "See these? They flip over when the nuke reaches a certain velocity, activating the warhead. Do you think you can throw it hard enough?"

Katie's eyebrows went up in surprise, and he could see the beginnings of a wide grin under her helmet. She took the nuke in her hand, tossing it up and down to get a feel for the weight. "Oh hell yes, I could throw this!" she said with excitement in her voice.

"Alright, I'll give you an opening," he replied quickly, pulling his sniper rifle and taking aim. As the behemoth swung the length of pipe and attached hydrant at the Knights attacking it from below, Dare waited for the perfect moment to strike. As it turned to swipe at the Brothers, the sniper held his breath and centered the crosshairs on the super-sized Super Mutant's head and pulled the trigger.

The behemoth roared in pain as one of its eyes popped, rearing back and clutching at its face as thick, dark blood poured from under its fingers. "Now!" Dare called, and Katie pulled her arm back.

"Fire in the hole!" she shouted, heaving the mini-nuke up through the air, the small warhead arcing through the air to hit the behemoth in its open mouth. There was a brief flash of blinding light and the air shook, nearly knocking her down. She opened her eyes to find a small mushroom cloud rising where the behemoth once stood, the rising fire fading into smoke as her Geiger counter clicked at her.

The smoke cleared to reveal the massive body of the mutant, sprawled limply on the ground, thick limbs twisted at unnatural angles as the stench of burnt flesh permeated the air.

The Brothers cheered in victory, allowing themselves a moment of triumph before moving to secure the area and see to the wounded. "Guess I should be thanking you," Sarah Lyons uttered, stepping up to them as Clover and Amata joined them in the middle of the courtyard, "Well, the area seems to be clear, so you can go see Three Dog now."

Katie took her minigun back, leaning it on her shoulder casually. "We handled ourselves pretty well for some strays who blundered into some Uglies, I think."

Sentinel Lyons let out a soft snort. "You can handle yourselves, I'll give you that," she replied with a nod, "But don't get ahead of yourselves. There's a lot more dangerous things out there, this was just one of them. But I appreciate the help."

The group left her there, heading up the steps to the building proper. They passed Reddin, who was lying on the ground in a heap, moaning pathetically as a medic carefully removed the twisted armor from her midsection, revealing a mess of torn and bloody flesh.

Katie shook the image out of her head, clicking the intercom and hearing the door unlock. "Alright," she breathed, rolling her neck, "Let's go see Three Dog."

…

…

…

 **A/N: And there you go, the next chapter and the beginning of the main storyline. Quite a bit happened in this chapter, fitting given the length, I'd say. Not to mention all the time between updates. I've been looking for a job, went to visit my sister, played some Destiny and Fallout, got a bunch of ideas for stories. It's been a time.**

 **I always figured there was a chance to mutate with the Ant Might/Sight perk from that quest, but I decided against it for now. And so, Katie has 10 STR, which basically means she has super strength. Now, she's not going to be lifting cars or anything like that, but she'll definitely use her strength to her advantage. Clover's isn't as exceptional, since she didn't have super high Perception to begin with.**

 **And they met the Brotherhood of Steel! I hope you noticed that I made their introduction a little more badass than just a couple of Knights shooting at a couple of mutants then being patronizing. But I also made the Behemoth stronger, since that's something I like to do. Make the main characters badasses, then have them go up against something even stronger.**

 **That way, they don't steamroll over everything in their path, like four people and a dog would've in the actual game. Keeps things interesting, you see. Power fantasies may be the most common, but a fantasy gets boring after awhile. That's why I have elements of realism in my stories, you see. Elements of realism, not necessarily realism, though. Gotta strike a balance between fantastical and plausible. Plausibility in fantasy, I think.**

 **Kurogane7: It's like the late Tom Clancy once said: "The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense."**

 **I was tempted to end the chapter before the behemoth fight, but I'm not that much of a bastard.**

 **Kurogane7: Forgiven.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and look forward to more, as more is incoming. Big thanks, as always to NorthSouthGorem and Kurogane7 for editing and being soundboards and all that good jazz.**

 **Kurogane7: You're welcome…though really, all the applause should go to you, Sol.**

 **Why don't you give them a look? I read their stuff and so should you!**

 **Stay Awesome.**

 **~Soleneus**

 **P.S.: "I have been crowned the '** _ **King of Fah Hahbah!**_ **You may bow." Love that quote. Just beat Far Harbor and heard that for the first time. Made me laugh out loud.**

 **Also, does anyone here play Destiny? If so, what would you think of a fic involved Mara Sov and a Guardian, eh? And no, it wouldn't be smut, but an actual story.**

 **Think on it and tell me.**

 **Stay Awesome Some More.**

 **~still Soleneus**


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